


Simple

by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: A lot of sex, Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bathroom Sex, Bedroom Sex, Blurred lines of consensual sex and rape, Child Abuse, Coma, Confusion, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fast Sex, Light BDSM, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Near Death, Oral Sex, Planned Sex, Random Sex, Rough Sex, Sexual Experimentation, Slow Sex, Some Season 0 Yami, Suicide Attempt but not really, Tender Sex, Underage Drinking, Yami is a popular nerd, Yaoi, Yugi is a smartass bad boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-02-13 14:10:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 388,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2153529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YamiYugiPuzzleshipper/pseuds/YamiYugiPuzzleshipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh shut up. Life is never meant to be simple. If it's simple, you're not living." Social suicides. High school. Love-hate relationship...things. Complications. "Bad boys" and "geeky enigmas". Lemons. Sexual confusion/frustration. Yaoi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Opposites

**Author's Note:**

> Story Note: The Japanese school year starts on April 5th. On this day, they have the entrance or beginning-of-year ceremony. This is the day that the beginning of the first semester begins.  
> They have a series of national holidays called “Golden Week” in Japan, which runs from April 29th to May 5th, and school children also get those days off.  
> On July 21st, summer vacation starts.  
> On August 28th, summer vacation ends. This is the beginning of the second half of the first semester.  
> Autumn vacation is from October 6th to October 10th.  
> October 11th is the beginning of the second semester.  
> Winter vacation is from December 22nd to January 7th.  
> The second half of the second semester begins on January 8th.  
> March 19th is the graduation ceremony for those who are graduating.  
> March 24th is the end of the school year for all other students.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing of Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: Lots of cursing in story

Chapter I: Opposites

Yugi Motou was quite literally the smallest person in the school. He stood a head shorter than the second smallest person, Yami Sennen. And Yami could not figure out for the life of him how Yugi of all people was  _the_ bad boy of the school. Between the two of them, they shared spiky hair predominantly black with golden-blond bangs, long black lashes, and of course they wore the same uniform. But the similarities ended there. How were the innocent, rounded blue-violet eyes more intimidating than that of the sharp, demonic red ones Yami owned? How was it that Yugi struck fear into the hearts of others while Yami seemed to draw people in?

Maybe it was the choker around Yugi's neck. It looked like it might be enough to mark him as a bad boy because it was like a fucking collar and Yami had his very few fleeting thoughts of what that collar was for. They ranged from his parents hooking him on a leash to make him behave in public to him being a sex slave.

He would rather it be the first. Because at least that was funny. Being a sex slave? Not so much.

But then it was Yugi's business. If he was kinky, that was fine. His own business. No one else's. Still, that didn't stop Yami from wondering. Who the fuck wore a collar? And outside of school, Yugi dressed the part of his school role, he supposed—black tank top, studded bracelets, leather pants, leather jacket or sometimes his school jacket if he was too lazy, and studded black boots.

Sex slave was the only thing that really connected all of those dots in Yami's head.

He didn't ever mention it, however, because who the fuck would go up to someone and ask about their outfits? Who went up to someone else and asked if they were sex slaves? And was it possible to ask that in a nice way that would ensure that they would not be pissed off at them?

Yami pondered this as he stared at the kid in front of him; Yugi, Ushio—he understood why he was a bad kid with the big build he had and the way his brown eyes looked wild enough to just pick out prey, Joey—he understood with his background, and Tristan—again with the background, all stood at the edge of the school entrance, leaning against the wall and talking.

Two former gang members, a  _current_ gang member and  _the_ most innocent-looking sixteen-year-old in the world. And here Yami had expected Yugi to be some kind of ferocious looking monster rather than a boy who just  _barely_ even reached five feet if he even reached  _that_.

Rivaling his own popularity, the four of them were up there, but they weren't popular in a way besides being troublemakers. Yami was popular because he was smart and everyone knew his name because he had the highest grades out there. But then, if another were in his situation, they would have to keep their grades up just as much.

"Don't let them see you staring."

Yami turned his head and stared at his soft-spoken friend. "Why not?" he asked in a bored tone. "It's not like they'll start anything."

The purple eyes narrowed a little. "You have no idea."

"Please, the blond over there is stupid enough to mistake me for his friend," he responded with a roll of his eyes, turning back; that had happened way too many times. "Besides, even those four are scared shitless by Bakura and Malik."

Beside him, his companion let out a light laugh and Yami smirked. Oh yes, his cousins were legendary with their dangerous personalities and disregard for everything; how many fires had they started in the chemistry labs just this week? He couldn't count them on both hands. Every other time he turned around there was news of his cousins burning something—marshmallows, pencils, even a cigarette once because Bakura got bored and wanted to see if it hurt to put out on his arm…god his cousins were so strange. Why Bakura thought that wouldn't hurt was beyond him but whatever.

Oh, well look at that. The four of them were now focused on him. Ushio looked disinterested and bored, Joey looked like he wanted to punch him for the very many times Yami had snapped at him because his name was not Yugi or "yummy", Tristan looked as he always did—indifferent. And Yugi…well Yugi had an eyebrow raised a little as if challenging him.

He could easily rise to that challenge. Yami never backed down from one, but four against one hardly seemed fair and he wasn't even sure if that challenge was directed towards him because his smaller look-alike was talking and it caught his stupid blond friend's attention.

The blue-violet eyes were curious. They feigned indifference but Yami could see the curiosity there. He knew what to look for because he himself was master at feigning things and Yugi was a novice in comparison. No one knew how to shield themselves as he did. There was no one.

But now Yugi looked away and spoke to the group and only Ushio was watching him, that bored and indifferent look still plastered to his face but his eyes were narrowing and he was starting to look mad.

"Oh geez."

Yami ignored his friend's comment and his lips curled up into a smirk, first to the left and then to the right, slowly, his lips stretching leisurely, an extremely direct show of challenge, a direct show of superiority. A direct show of self-confidence. Of predatory interest.

Ushio glared and then turned away.

Yami won.

* * *

"Motou and Sennen."

Yugi turned his head and stared at the red-eyed male on the other side of the room, narrowing his eyes a little as Yami didn't even glance at him, instead looking at the teacher with a bored expression and then looking at his worksheet.

"Dude, that sucks," Joey whispered next to him, nudging him with his elbow. Yugi fought the urge to roll his eyes; it was not Yami's fault that Joey could not keep their names straight and who the hell gave him the right to call him "yummy" anyways? Or "Yams"? His name was only four letters and if Joey could remember the name Yugi and his own name, what the fuck was wrong with him that he could not remember the name Yami?

Four letters. Started with Y and ended with I. It was only two letters from his own.

Finally Yami looked up, locking eyes from him. Yugi had to blink twice to see that the disinterested look was a mask because when he blinked Yami's expression changed to pure amusement.

The kid was an enigma. He was geeky as hell, had the perfect grades, he was known as a dork  _because_  of his perfect grades, and yet he was like a spitfire. The staring he had done earlier that morning when he was with Mahado in the courtyard, that said something way different from the normal average geek. They would have looked away immediately when they got caught. Instead Yami had smirked at Ushio as if he were a sheep grazing in a pin that belonged in the wolf's territory.

And the way he had done it so easily, so obviously relaxed and challenging, was beyond different.

Yami was popular for being the smartest kid in school. Well, if Yugi himself was not counted, because he wasn't sure as far as that went. While Yugi kept up the persona of the bad boy, he was expected to be brainless and he was far from it, but compared to Yami? He had no idea where he stood…

"Please rearrange your seats so that you can sit next to your partners and I will hand out the rubric for you to look over and the choices of which topic you would like," the teacher announced, looking excited.

Yugi narrowed his eyes at Yami who merely sat back and didn't bother to get up; oh, so he thought that Yugi was going to move? Screw that. He stayed exactly as he was.

The teacher looked between them and, of course, not wanting to upset the bad boy of the school, turned to Yami. "Is there a problem, Mr. Sennen?"

Yami looked over at him and gave a purely innocent look. "I can't walk right now. My leg is asleep," he replied, his voice just as innocent as his widened and confused red eyes; Yugi nearly burst out laughing at the display.

"Very well. Mr. Motou, would you please move over here then?"

Yami turned his head and the left side of his mouth quirked up into a smirk, the movement slow and lazy like it had been that morning, a display of power, of predatory leisure.

Yugi didn't bother to respond. He just got up and went over, plopped down in front of Yami and smirked widely at him; who had time for slow when they could go fast? Yugi was a quick person. He had patience but not for stupid things. Yami's little display was anything but wise.

The teacher began passing out the rubrics and Yugi looked his over, staring at the list of colonies for a long time; why did they have US History again? And why had he signed up for it? He didn't want to go to the US. Unlike Tea…

He narrowed his eyes. Tea wanted to go for dance. Yugi didn't say it but he didn't think she could make it with a scholarship with the grades she had. She spent too much time dancing and not enough doing her homework and schoolwork. Instead she floated by on C's and no scholarships were offered for C's.

Oh that was right. Egypt. That was why he had joined this class. They were going to learn about Egypt and Yugi's grandpa loved it in Egypt so Yugi wanted to learn about it…

"Virginia," he stated with finality. Yami didn't reply but as soon as the teacher came over he said, "North Carolina" in which the teacher marked them down for it.

Yugi gave him a sharp look and Yami merely raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed. Oh yeah, Yami was definitely an enigma.

They spent thirty minutes just talking about when they could get together for the project and thus decided that the next three weeks they would get together on the weekends and any free days after school—Yugi had these in plenty but did not say anything and Yami just threw this idea out because he knew that he would end up doing most of the project himself—as well as getting together in the library during lunch.

Yami honestly couldn't understand why Yugi was agreeing with him because Yami knew for a fact that he would end up doing it all anyways and Yugi would not help at all; he nearly rolled his eyes when Yugi stated that they might as well go to the library for lunch today to get started but instead nodded and agreed as he saw fit to do.

There was no point in arguing with him anyways.

At lunch they sat next to each other at a small square table, Yami looking at his books and Yugi overlooking the rubric with a bored face; while they looked at this, Yami couldn't help it when he asked, "Why are you even bothering?" in a sharp voice.

Yugi looked at him and the smirk was in his eyes but not on his lips. "And so it begins," he said under his breath, earning him a sharp look from Yami who did not speak but narrowed his eyes and glared for a moment. "Exactly why wouldn't I help out?"

"Because you have your little gang to go around playing with, right?"

His eyes narrowed and his voice grew a little louder but because of their location, his words came out in a hiss. "We are not a gang, you stupid ass." Blue-violet eyes rolled with clear annoyance. "And just because I hang out with the three of them does not mean anything."

Yami was about to open his mouth but then stopped short when Yugi dug into his binder and pulled out a single sheet of paper. "You want to know who got the highest grade on the test? Because he said that it wasn't you," the smaller teen said, sliding it over to him; Yami didn't look surprised but in the smallest corner of his eye, just beneath his pupil, his gaze sparked with interest as he looked closely at the paper. "So don't make the mistake of calling me stupid when you don't even know me, Yami. I don't know you and you don't know me, okay?"

Yami stared and then tilted his head slightly before handing it back to him. "I apologize," he replied, looking up with a sincere expression on his face; Yugi blinked once before following it with a second one. "I was wrong to jump to assumptions and I apologize. It was wrong of me to do so and I hope you can forgive me."

No one had ever spoken to him like this, not formally like this. Anyone else would have scoffed or called him a cheater—he'd been called that so many times it was not even funny—but they would not have apologized as Yami had done. And especially not in the same way as he did.

He didn't answer for a moment, stunned by the sincerity that he had heard in the red-eyed boy's voice and even more so by the same emotion showing in the red depths.

"Sure," he finally replied, feeling strange and stripped to nothing with the deep soulful eyes that were staring straight into his. Yami sat up a little straighter from the position he had been slumping forward slightly in and Yugi searched his eyes for the smallest moment. Anyone else would not have noticed the subtle shift of his gaze but Yami was observant of everything and everyone around him and so he was immediately alerted to this movement. Yugi was trying to read him and while Yami usually locked his emotions securely behind a wall in his eyes, he was willing to show the sincerity.

"Will you allow us to start again with a clean slate?"

Yugi swallowed. Did Yami always speak like this? Or was he trying extra hard with him because he was worried about the others in his group?

No, Yami was not afraid of them. That was apparent with the smirk and the fact that he had undermined Yugi's decision for Virginia as soon as the teacher had come over again; Yami was not a coward like most of the people in the school. He didn't take it when Yugi made demands for their project subject and he didn't step down from Ushio in the schoolyard earlier.

In the two years that Yami had been in this school with them, Yugi had never once spoken to him or so much as locked eyes with him before; they operated on separate scales and the fact that they were put together for this project had seemed like an insult to both of them. Yugi only found it insulting because his friends were all over him about it the moment Joey told them and Yami because he had unrightfully assumed he would be given the responsibility of the entire thing.

"Yeah, okay," Yugi finally agreed, narrowing his eyes. Yami nodded at him and his eyes were now emotionless, wiped clean; Yugi was awed by that single fact. There was a layer of ice to the red eyes, a barrier, a wall that made him completely unable to read him at all in this moment. Yugi had never seen such a complete control over one's emotions in all his life and it shocked his core. He envied this so significantly he was ashamed but oh, how much he would give to be able to do the same…

All his life he had been dubbed an open book and it irritated him to no end. He strived to do what Yami had just done.

"Hey, Yugi," a familiar female voice called and Yugi looked up to see the tall blue-eyed brunette form of his best friend since kindergarten, Tea Gardner. Yugi leaned forward a little in his seat, immediately aware of how desperate he must look to Yami, but when he shifted his eyes the slightest bit to take in his reaction to his movements, the taller of the two was instead studiously ignoring their newcomer, making marks on his own rubric and circling a particular checkmark on the list.

"Hi Tea."

He was pretty sure his voice came out different, maybe a little deeper? Or maybe it was higher? Either way, it changed and he was aware of that but it always happened when she was close. Because he would be stupid to not notice how hot she had become over the years.

"So, are you—Yami Sennen?"

And the question was completely forgotten.  _Yugi_  was completely forgotten.

Yami looked up to give her a silent nod and his voice was normal, without a single change in its deep baritone pitch, when he stated, "Tea Gardner" as if it were the most insignificant thing in the world. His attention was immediately back on his rubric again, his eyes taking in another sweep of the rubric as he circled yet another point…

Yugi felt the jealousy flare deep in his bones. How the hell could Tea just ignore him for someone who could not care less about her existence? He wanted her attention back on him but instead it was all on Yami and he instantly, in that single moment, hated someone for the first time in his life.

Tea leaned forward and Yugi realized that she was trying to show off her cleavage despite the uniform she was wearing, not that she really needed to because she had rather large breasts anyways… The deep royal blue bow was almost eye level with Yami's face, the pink jacket was practically bulging with the way she was bent over, and her short blue pleated skirt was pushed slightly up to expose a little bit of the curve of her ass.

Yugi got to see this but the fact that her chest was in Yami's face drove him insane with jealousy. Oh yes, he definitely hated Yami in this moment. If he did not depend on Yami for this project, his head would be cut off and put on a stick and Yugi would parade around with it.

"It's a shame we don't have a class together," Tea said in a slightly lowered voice.

Yami and Yugi both caught the sultry edge to it, but Yugi was now glaring at Yami who was ignoring the attention he was being given; finally, after circling another note on the rubric, he turned to her and said, "I haven't had a class with you at all since I've been here."

And his voice was not harsh but it was not very friendly either and Yugi nearly lunged at him. How dare he speak to her like that?

She ignored it and said, "Yeah, that sucks, huh?" with a smaller lean towards him.

Yami didn't look down once. He kept his eyes on her face and his eyes narrowed the slightest degree; she was pretty in the plainest of ways. She did not wear makeup. She had a relatively heart-shaped face. She had bright azure eyes that were pretty. She had a plain haircut with bangs, her hair just above her shoulders.

"Not really," Yami replied easily, shrugging and sitting back with a straighter posture, putting his pencil down and looking at her. "We've never exactly spoken before this moment, Tea."

And then she flushed. And Yugi saw red.

"She's just trying to make conversation!" he snapped.

Tea looked at him in surprise. "Calm down Yugi," she admonished and Yugi looked at her, glaring slightly before his expression softened the smallest bit. "It's true. We've never spoken to each other before. But that's only because we never had a class together."

And her attention was solely on Yami again. Yami kept his back straight, his head raised a little as if he were feeling threatened, and his posture may have looked relaxed but Yugi could see that his muscles had tensed the smallest bit.

"There's no guarantee we would have spoken even if we had classes together," Yami said calmly, narrowing his eyes slightly; did Yugi normally let Tea talk down to him like this? No wonder she never acknowledged his crush. "We could have sat on opposite sides of the room. There weren't any partner projects that I had in any of my classes so the possibility of us having spoken is actually very slim. Especially considering I had almost all of my classes with your friend Joey."

This was directed towards Yugi and that was why his eyes were on the smaller teen who looked irritated but surprised by his sudden attention; he blinked once and then narrowed his eyes and Yami got the message, turning away to Tea again.

"In all honesty, we probably would not have spoken at all even if we did have classes together."

Tea frowned a little, obviously not liking her attempts at flirting shot down and Yugi stared plainly at Yami with an expression that said he was insane to shoot her down like this; Yami could not understand why guys considered her one of the hottest girls in school. She was hardly anything to look at but then he guessed it was just the fact that she had bigger breasts than most of the girls at school.

Her, Vivian, Mai, and Mana. The four hottest girls in school because of their bodies.

Tea seemed nice enough but if she was willing to treat her friend like he was a child and she was above him and ignore his crush, flaunt her stuff at his look-alike, he could honesty say that he had no interest in even being friends with her.

Yugi finally decided to push his jealousy away and reached for the paper in front of Yami, pulling it over to him and feeling Yami's attention immediately on him as well as a more reluctant Tea. "What are these?"

"My weak points," Yami stated easily. "I need you to help me out with them with this project because I really can't do too well with them."

Yugi stared at the page for so long he might have gone cross-eyed. So even the smartest boy at school had weak points. He pushed the page back over. "Sure, I can help out with that."

Yami nodded and Tea looked between them, irritated by the lack of attention; when Yugi glanced at her, the warning was clear in her eyes that she wanted Yami's sole attention and he needed to stop interfering. The smallest teen in the school turned away and looked at his own rubric before following Yami's lead and circling some of his weaker points as Tea smiled a little and turned back to the taller male.

"That's pretty smart," she praised him.

Yami turned to her and the disinterest was blocked out by the blank look in his eyes. "Thanks," he replied.

"Do you do that for all partner projects?"

"This is the first one I've had all year."

Of course it was. The school year was just beginning, after all. He noticed the slight smirk that crossed Yugi's face, obviously amused by this statement and the fact that Yami had just deflected Tea's flirting.

She blinked and then flushed a little. "Well, I mean for all partner projects as in…in general."

"I've never had a partner project before now."

This statement struck Yugi as odd. It managed to make him look over to study the boy beside him. All throughout his years before high school he had definitely participated in a ton of partner projects. It was actually like a rite of passage in order to even prepare for high school.

But then…he had never heard of a Yami Sennen before in Domino City. Although, Yami might have just lived in a different part of Japan.

That would not have been different at all. Although he was pretty sure the schooling system was relatively the same.

Tea used Yugi's only thoughts to her advantage.

"So, then what about before high school?"

The atmosphere changed suddenly, very suddenly, with this question. Yugi felt it and it made him raise his head, but Yami's pose had not changed and his eyes had not faltered in their defenses. But the air around him was suddenly different. Yugi did not know what it was but it was definitely there.

"I was home schooled."

It was so simple an answer that it shouldn't have sent alarms off in his head, but it still did; sirens wailed at high pitches as he stared at the other boy.

"Excuse me," a tall man with dark hair said, coming over to their table and looking at Tea; Yugi looked over as well and narrowed his eyes with annoyance, knowing that he was about to tell Tea to leave. He wished he would tell Yami to leave and Tea to stay and then he instantly felt bad for that thought because Yami did nothing to him and had not even flirted back with his crush's attempts. "You have a project to do at the computers."

Tea nodded a little, frowning. Of course her teacher would cut into her attempts to flirt with Yami. "Okay," she replied and then turned to them, smiling. "See you later guys."

Yami did not even blink when she winked at him and Yugi turned red with anger at the display of his ignorance and her flirting with him. He glared for a moment at the teen beside him but Yami was immediately turning to him a second later, staring.

"What did you circle?"

Yugi stared at him for a moment and then turned to his paper, looking it over before sliding the paper over to him. Yami was immediately looking at it and it irked him severely, making him growl, "Really?"

"Do not get pissed off at me. I did nothing to you. It is not my fault you have a crush on a girl who doesn't pay attention to you aside from admonishing you," Yami snapped, not bothering to look up. "I don't even want to date anyone. I have plans for after high school and dating would ruin them severely."

Yugi narrowed his eyes and glared. "So you didn't care that she just flirted with you?" he asked sharply, not buying it for a moment.

Yami turned his head and stared at him. Yugi froze when he saw the cold dangerous glint in his eyes, hiding in the outer edges of his irises, easily hidden if he wasn't so close to him and paying attention. "I have plans for after high school that dating would ruin," he repeated in a deadly calm voice. "So no, I do not care that she flirted with me. I do care that she hurt you with her careless flirting with me. I apologize that it pissed you off but I did not take part in it and as so, you should not take it out on me."

Yugi would have opened his mouth but he was a little overwhelmed by the look in Yami's eyes and the way his voice had dropped dangerously. For a moment he just stared and then he finally nodded and muttered, "Sorry."

Yami didn't care for it but he still accepted it regardless. "Shall we start over for real this time or would you rather we continue biting at each other's heads?" he replied, his voice growing lighter and his eyes guarded once more.

Yugi stared and alarms went off in his head at Yami's sudden change of demeanor but he still nodded a little, fighting off the unnerved sensation that made itself known in the back of his mind.

* * *

Mana was immediately on him as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him over to her. "Tell me everything."

"Such a gossip."

She grinned at his teasing and rolled her eyes. "Of course I am. Now spill."

Yami looked over at the blonde girl next to him and smiled a little. She was one of the sweetest people he knew, but she was so excitable it was amazing she could function properly half the time, always yapping and shivering like a Chihuahua when she was wound up.

But she was beautiful, he admitted that much. She had gorgeous golden-blonde hair that was predominantly straight but curled up at the ends and long bangs that framed her face nicely. Her blue-green eyes were always bright with happiness and kindness. Her face was heart-shaped and clear, flawless, and her long eyelashes brought her eyes and her creamy skin to attention to anyone looking her way. She never wore makeup aside from once putting on some eye shadow for a dance and she had shown him the pictures. She had a nice curvy body and her personality definitely made her even brighter.

Yami liked her. He thought she was beautiful. But he was not interested in any way past friendship and in all honesty, maybe there was something wrong with him to think that when guys practically fell over themselves with thoughts of dating her.

But then again, Mana was not interested in dating anyone either.

Mahado grinned at him. "Was it as bad as you thought it would be?"

Yami smirked a little and messed with the strap of his canvas bag before putting his hands in his pockets. "It was…well, not great but it wasn't horrible either," he replied evenly, shrugging. "We fought a little but we were okay for the most part."

Mana threw her arm around his shoulders and then leaned in to his face, giggling with her lips barely an inch from the flesh of his cheek; anyone else besides her and he would have told them to back off but Mana was a very touchy feely girl and she was exuberant in nature and though it had taken tons of time for him to get used to, he had eventually and he was now okay with this.

"Well that sucks. But tell me about him."

Yami's lips twitched. Mana had this thing for Yugi. It wasn't a crush but she had this habit of thinking he was awesome because he was so adorable.

"He's pretty smart."

"You sound surprised," Mahado snickered.

"No," Yami argued, shaking his head a little. "I knew the kid was smart. I never doubted that. I just…didn't expect him to agree to do  _all_  of the project with me. I mean, I didn't really expect him to make a schedule for the project with me."

"Schedule?" Mana asked, pulling away a little and staring at him in surprise. Mahado's eyes flickered to a point over Yami's shoulder but then he was immediately paying attention to him again. Yami would have thought something had happened but then realized that he had probably just seen someone walk by and just paid attention for that single moment.

"Yeah, we're going to be getting together for the project every weekend and any free days we have after school and during lunch."

"Shit, seriously?" Mana whined and Yami smirked at her, chuckling.

"Yeah, so you can't really have your shopping buddy until next month."

"Why are you guys even going to work so hard on this project anyways?" Mahado finally asked.

Yami pulled away from Mana when she started flicking the ends of her hair over his face, both of them laughing.

"It's a pretty big grade," the red-eyed teen replied, pushing her hair away; when she kept going, Yami grabbed her hand, the two of them twining fingers for a moment as he gave her a playful glare and then pulled his hand away. "I mean, it's pretty much our first major grade and it's fifteen percent of our grades…"

"You are such a nerd," Mahado snickered.

Yami flipped him off and watched as Mana jumped a mile when a voice murmured, "I agree wholeheartedly."

All three of them turned towards Yugi who grinned a little; he had to admit that Yami had been rather nice from what he had heard since he'd gotten there. Mahado had looked at him and not told the other two despite the fact that Yugi didn't make a move towards him saying otherwise. And Yami had not badmouthed him at all, even stating that he had thought he was a smart kid.

"That's messed up," Mana grumbled, giving him a playful glare. "You shouldn't go sneaking up on people like that. It's not nice."

Yugi smiled at her. "Sorry," he replied, looking at her with a playful expression. "I was expecting your brother to say something but I guess not."

Mana turned around and swatted her laughing twin's arm; Yugi felt a little weird when he saw that Yami's attention was solely on the blonde. He had seen them playing and that same weird emotion had come up when he had seen their hands together, and it made no sense to him so he pushed it away.

Mana turned to Yami suddenly and grabbed him into a hug, pulling him extremely close to her and Yami chuckled as he rolled his eyes and patted her on the back. "You're a real bitch of a hugger," the blonde griped at him and Yami laughed before hugging her just as tightly; as soon as he lightened up she pulled away and danced over to her brother, winking at him. "See you later. Have fun you two."

Mahado laughed and shook his head before nodding at Yami. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye guys."

Yugi watched the twins walk off, smiling a little when he saw Mana turn her head to look at them over her shoulder, waving every once in a while and making Yugi's smile widen as he waved back. She was a pretty friendly person and he definitely liked that she was not ashamed to be that way.

"So how much of that did you hear?" Yami asked, appraising him with a guarded expression.

Yugi turned away from the twins to look at him and then shrugged. "All of it after you said that I was a smart kid," he replied, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Yami nodded almost imperceptibly. "Then you pretty much heard the whole conversation," he stated easily, his entire posture relaxed despite the way he held himself. He was still straight-backed, his aura was proud and nearly regal, and when he started walking Yugi could practically see the pride rolling off him in waves.

Yugi matched his pace, surprised by how fast Yami walked though maybe it shouldn't have considering how Yami had classes all across the school and he was never late for any of them; he knew that Yami's class before the one they shared was on the exact other end of the school and up three flights of stairs. Mostly he was surprised by the fact that Yami had been so friendly and gentle towards Mana. It seemed way out of character for the person he had thought Yami to be. He had figured he was only popular because he was a nerd and everyone went to him for things but if he was so nice to Mana it was possible that he was friends with others for other reasons that that.

"So, I was thinking that we would split the research between us in order to lessen the load of it," Yami announced, looking over at him and searching his face. "That way we can start on the rest of the project much easier and earlier than we could have otherwise."

Yugi blinked once and then shrugged. "So?"

Yami tilted his head and Yugi immediately felt bad for the borderline-snapping tone of his voice when he said, "So I thought that I would ask you if you were okay with this. Otherwise I suppose we could just split the work up completely between us but I figured it would be easier this way so we could work better with the presentation."

He turned away and his teeth worked at his bottom lip with guilt for his tone of voice when he was only trying to be nice to him; he felt his stomach twist as he realized not one of his friends had ever actually asked his consent about things. And yet Yami, who he barely knew, was showing him the decent courtesy. "Yeah, that…that's fine," he replied, letting out a breath. "But we still need to work out what format we're going to do with the project."

"I was thinking a poster," Yami murmured. "Past the essay, the visual does not really matter as much."

Yugi looked at him and messed with his backpack's straps, frowning. "What? I thought we'd do a power point. It makes more sense. It gives us more layout for information because we can make as many slides as we want."

"Yes, but a power point will just mean more time up in front of the class."

And that was when Yugi realized that he had never once actually seen Yami up in front of any of the classes they had had together over the two years they had been in high school together. And it was not a lack of projects given to present because they had been given them in abundance from ninth to tenth grade.

Yugi was shocked out of his mind when Yami pulled the door open and held it for him, eyes widening slightly before offering a small smile. "Thanks." Yami merely nodded and followed him inside. "So…I am kind of confused about something."

"Perhaps I could clear it up for you."

That was a little bit of a strange way of saying he would answer the question but Yugi didn't comment on this, instead turning to him as they walked towards the tables in the back. "All right, so I just remembered that I have never once seen you up in front of the class before," he admitted, taking a seat and pulling his backpack off; he watched Yami just sling his canvas bag onto the table where it skidded for a second before he pulled it back and dug through its contents to grab his binder.

"I always turn my projects in late if we have to present," the red-eyed boy stated, shrugging. "I refuse to get up in front of everyone so I just turn them in late when I know that the teachers won't make me present because it would disrupt the curriculum."

"Why?"

Yami didn't answer.

"I mean you sure as hell are not shy," Yugi stated, staring at him curiously. Why would someone as upfront, proud and regal need to hide away from others? Because he knew for a fact someone like him, who stood so tall and held such an abundance of self-confidence, was not shy, especially after Yami had stared down Ushio and dared to mess with Yugi's decision to work on Virginia instead of North Carolina, not to mention that Yami had gotten into more than one verbal spat with Joey and never once backed down.

"No, I'm not," Yami agreed.

And that was all he got out of Yami on the subject.

* * *

"I like your shoes," Yugi murmured, looking her over appraisingly. Tea smiled at him sweetly, modeling off her shoes which were bright pink and blue like the girls' uniform with white laces and her sneakers were cute even if she wasn't supposed to wear them since they weren't part of the uniform.

"Thanks," she said in a bubbly way, winking at him cutely.

Yugi felt his chest swell with the fact that Tea was paying so much attention to him and when she went over and ruffled his hair, teasing one of his bangs, he nearly fell out of his seat with happiness. Oh yes, Yugi was definitely turned on due to the attention, to the look of affection in her azure eyes. Plus the perfume was making him a little lightheaded with desire and though he could push it off somewhat, he couldn't push it away completely. And even better was the fact that Yami was ignoring this whole display as if his life depended on it. He wondered when Tea would get the point that Yami was not into her and he planned to be the shoulder she cried on. Well, if she didn't notice  _before_  then, anyways.

Yami flipped the page in the book in front of him, digging through the information and looking for key words in order to pick out the facts that he needed for this assignment. Yugi could flirt all he wanted since the class had all gone to the library this period and was sharing it with Tea's class and they would not get in trouble for it this time around; at lunch Yami really hoped that Tea was not around so that they could get some actual work done and be alone to discuss their presentation further.

Because they hadn't decided whether to do a poster or a power point.

Yami had to admit that the more he thought about it, if he just limited the number of slides, maybe their presentation wouldn't be too long. Besides, posters could get messy and it was way too easy to just delete a slide from a power point, much easier than having to cut out pictures or write and erase.

He shifted his weight, putting his left elbow on the table and leaning his chin into his palm as he flipped the page and continued writing. In the twenty minutes they had been at this, he had written only two sentences and one of them he had erased so many times he was starting to make a hole in the paper. He flipped his pencil around in his fingers several times, still ignoring the stupid flirting going on in front of him because he didn't care to know who was doing what or what pathetic compliments they were feeding each other, and instead started copying some more facts, finally finding some information he could work with.

His hand started to hurt from the constant spinning of the pencil and his tightening grip due to the lack of information he had found so far. Two sentences, twelve words, and now he was adding twelve new bullet points to the open sheet in his notebook and would have to turn them into sentences as soon as he was done collecting information.

Tea took a seat next to Yugi and in front of Yami, staring at the other teen and making Yugi's anger flare again; what the hell was with her attraction to him? Why could she not see that he was not going to fucking pay attention to her?

"Did you do something to your hair?" he tried, grabbing her attention momentarily; she had curled it but it was hardly noticeable and Yugi just decided that he was going to pull it out of his ass in order to make sure that her attention was on him.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I curled it this morning but all of the curls are gone," she replied, and then her attention was on Yami again and he was about to wring the boy's neck. "So, Yami, how is the project going?"

He refrained from telling her to ask Yugi because he was  _more_ than willing to tell her, but decided against it at the last second; he was not raised to disrespect others and that had not changed just because he himself had changed location. So instead, to show proper respect, he raised his head and gave her a small half-smile, making sure that his face was blank of his irritation, and said, "It's going fine."

Yugi stared at him, feeling like some kind of animal whose mating ritual had just been interrupted; he felt like a bear, wanting to tear into him for treading into his territory, and it irked him to no end. He hated feeling this way and even worse was that he didn't want to feel this way towards Yami, not after Yami had been nothing but nice with all the crap he had put him through so far—snapping at him without cause, throwing out arguments almost every time he opened his mouth. If he were Yami, he would have lost his patience long ago and his patience for the smaller boy seemed legendary, especially considering that Yugi was a naturally patient person or so he was constantly told.

"Oh that's pretty cool," the brunette announced, smiling widely now that she had his sole attention; she didn't notice that he was spinning his pencil around impatiently between his fingers, she didn't notice that he had narrowed his eyes and so his red gaze was shadowed to avoid showing the agitation that was growing drastically in case his guard slipped up at all.

Yugi, however, did notice this and it made him smile slightly because it just reinforced the knowledge that Yami was in fact indifferent towards her attempts at flirting and it pleased him to no end. And then he felt bad for Tea because he knew the feeling of having his feelings rejected like that because Tea treated him as Yami did her and it hurt but he was petty with jealousy at the moment.

"Look, Tea, I'm sorry, but I have to get at least twenty sentences down and I can't talk while I am doing that," he said politely, trying to cut her off immediately before she could even start flirting with him again because he needed to do as much of the essay as possible to prevent them getting a lesser grade than the others because the teacher was taking what they had at the end of the period and they needed a good number because anything less than twenty was getting a failing grade and twenty was just barely there.

"Oh, okay," she said, looking disappointed.

Yugi continued staring at him and Yami's eyes flickered over for the smallest of milliseconds before he started digging into his work again, hurrying through and skimming the information before copying some again. Yugi had to admit that Yami had a smarter system than half of the kids in the class as far as information gathering went. He wrote fast, which was an added bonus, and thanks to the neat notes he wrote, it was easy for him to rearrange them into sentences later. They needed three sources for information by the end of the class and Yami had already gotten the packet they were given and recorded it as well as the two books he had gotten through. He was on his fourth now and Yugi liked his strategy to do the essay but he was also a little worried about the fact that Yami only had fourteen bullet points and they were already halfway through the class. He didn't doubt him for a moment because Yami strived under pressure, Yugi found out after Yami got through three books in the library in the last ten minutes of yesterday, gathering almost fifty facts and citing each of them without so much as a pause in motion. But he still worried. And then he felt bad because he was over here flirting with a girl who barely noticed him unless she wanted to get his opinion on something or point out a flaw or just mess with his hair.

Yami was immediately working on his paper again, trying to convince himself that he was under pressure because stress was a powerful motivator when it came to him, but found nothing. Only a minute later Tea got up and walked off with a farewell that Yugi echoed and then turned to Yami again, not glaring but not exactly looking at him with a friendly expression either.

He didn't really have a right to, but he asked anyways.

"Why haven't you asked her out yet if you're so into her?"

Yugi felt his eyes widen for a second and then glared and snarled, "Mind your own business."

Yami didn't try to hide the half-smirk that appeared on his face, writing another bullet point of information as he replied simply with "Very well."

Yugi never wanted to hit someone so badly before in his life but he wanted to punch Yami until he couldn't move his lips anymore. He glared but Yami ignored him and finally, when he felt his anger subside, he started to help him out, scooting closer to him and pointing out information that might be useful. Yami would either copy what he pointed out or state that it was not needed or that he had already written that one down.

With the two of them working together, they got twice as many notes though Yami seemed to be on the same page as him every time he started to point one out, writing it down almost before he could even say anything; it felt so strange to have a person work so well with him and one who was willing to work with him like this in the first place.

Because normally with partner projects he had been teamed with Joey and had been forced to do all the work for them because Joey was rather scatter-brained when it came to schoolwork and he got way too distracted to even do anything. Not to mention the first time they had worked together before they became friends, Joey had threatened to break his nose if he didn't do it and get a high grade.

Yami actually treated him with a lot more respect than he was used to and he was a lot friendlier than Yugi had thought him to be as well as being thoughtful towards him. He fought back, but he was not nosy and he didn't demand answers like he wasn't doing so now and Yugi found this to be good but he was so used to having his buttons pushed at that he was confused by a simple show of decency and it hurt to admit that.

"Sorry for snapping at you," he muttered, chewing his cheek.

Yami didn't look up at first and his pencil kept moving and for a moment Yugi thought he was ignoring him but then Yami stopped and looked at him, giving a small smile as he replied, "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

He was a lot more blasé than anyone Yugi had ever met if he was not offended by his display of anger and he blinked several times, shocked out of his mind that Yami was forgiving him so quickly.

"All right, start finishing up your rough drafts so I can see them," the teacher announced, standing up and watching them; Yugi watched as Yami flipped shut each of the six books in front of them and then started sorting through his notes, marking them with numbers on the side and then making sentences out of them on a fresh piece of paper.

He was amazed by how quick and efficient Yami was. His brain seemed on an entirely different wavelength, steps ahead of everyone else, making the essay seem professional even though he really shouldn't have been able to make all the sentences out of the facts that they had gotten. Not to mention he managed to use all fifty of the notes in only ten minutes.

When Yami finished he got up and Yugi hurried off with him to hand the paper over; their teacher looked stunned for a moment and then looked up and stared at Yugi when he said, "Did you do any of this at all?"

Yugi started to answer, to snap at him that he wasn't stupid and he could shove it up his ass because he was a piece of shit teacher anyways, but Yami cut him off with, "I write faster than him but he helped me find what we needed and even helped me sort out the notes so the essay would make sense."

The teacher blinked a few times and then looked at the sheet and started to read through it before making several red marks with the pen; all of them were punctuation, oddly enough, and Yugi remembered that Yami had circled punctuation down on his rubric sheet as one of his weak points. Yugi really needed to ask him about that because Yami was smart as hell and he didn't understand why punctuation—which Yugi found easy—would be a weak point for him.

He didn't get around to it that day.


	2. Ground Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing in story

Chapter II: Ground Rules

Yugi hummed as he looked at the shirt in front of him; he, Joey, Tristan and Tea were at the mall because the brunette loved to shop and she always wanted their opinions on the outfits she bought. This time, however, she was mostly going to Yugi and asking if he thought that Yami might like it since apparently she had some kind of misconception that because they were doing a project together they were best friends and Yugi was not happy about this.

Of course he wasn't happy about it. She was constantly asking him what Yami might like and what he wouldn't and while some of her clothes made his mouth water with lust, the joy of it was totally gone with the fact that she would not shut up about his look-alike. Why did she want him anyways? She didn't know him at all and Yugi was her best friend so why the hell did she go to him? They looked just alike! So what the hell made Yami better than him?

He crossed his arms, looking it over and tilting his head slightly. Oh yes, this looked like one of the shirts that Yami would buy. Graphic t-shirts with nothing to them. His lips quirked up into a small smirk.

Yami could not even accessorize. He didn't do anything but wear graphic t-shirts and baggy jeans. So again, what made him more desirable than Yugi?

He shook his head. He wanted Tea to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. If it was Yami who made her happy…

Even if he couldn't understand why she liked him over Yugi, he would help her out. And in order to do that, he would help Yami out.

His heart broke a little at the idea of doing this, but it was becoming more apparent that he couldn't hold a flame to Yami. Not after a whole week of Tea practically ignoring him for the red-eyed boy and constantly pushing him aside in order to talk to him. He just hoped that Yami would keep her happy…if they went out anyways. Seeing as Yami said that he had plans that would be destroyed if he dated anyone.

He was definitely confused about this but whatever. And it wasn't like he could explain to Tea what was going on if he didn't even understand.

So the least he could do was help Yami out with Tea because even if they didn't date, at least he did  _try_. There was no guarantee that Yami would date her so he could just do this for nothing but it might also double as a way of him getting over Tea and after three years of crushing on her and having her ignore him, it was about time for that to happen.

He set his resolve on this one mission. He was going to get over her.

Not for Yami. Not for Tea. But for himself.

* * *

"Your clothing is kind of dull, you know," Yugi commented, looking him over with his left elbow on the table and his chin in his palm, watching him as he continued writing a note on his paper.

"So what?" Yami asked, ignoring him for a moment and then starting to write again, doubling his ten notes in only two minutes worth of time. He put his pencil down and shook his hand out; Yugi couldn't argue with his hand hurting because Yami had been writing for two hours straight now that they had gotten to the library after school.

"I was just saying," he answered, shrugging and sighing. "Do you want me to take over?"

"No."

"Fine, but you can't say that I didn't try to help you."

"No, I can't."

Yugi found it hard to argue with Yami when he was willing to see when he was wrong unlike his own friends who would bite at his heels until he somehow ended up apologizing even when he wasn't wrong.

"Why do you wear those anyways?"

Yami crossed his arms on the table and stared at him for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "Because I like them. Why do you care?"

"Because, like I said, they're just so dull, Yami."

"Yeah, but at least I don't look like some kind of bondage slave," Yami spat, finally losing his temper; his voice had dropped drastically and Yugi was surprised at first by the sudden display of irritation, but it died almost immediately.

"Well at least I'm not still a virgin."

Okay, that had to be the stupidest thing he had said in years because he had not even had a kiss before and he was most certainly a virgin but either way it came out of his mouth and he couldn't take it back, not that he wanted to when Yami responded.

"Well, not everyone is a slut, Yugi."

* * *

"Um, Yugi is staring at you," Mana murmured, eyes wide as she looked up over Yami's shoulder. Yami didn't respond immediately and when he finally did, she almost thought that he didn't care but then he twisted around and looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with the smaller teen.

Yugi continued staring and then crooked a finger at him to which Mana's mouth dropped open and Mahado's eyebrows shot up in surprise; Yami raised an eyebrow in challenge and then looked at Joey and back again. Yugi glanced at Joey as well and then sat back in his seat, realizing it was really not a good idea to have the blond and his red-eyed look-alike near each other. There really was no need for a dogfight.

Yami turned away and Mana waved to which Yugi waved back before he dove into a conversation about video games when Joey started talking; Mahado could not even begin to wrap his head around the fact of how strange it was to see the school's bad boy trying to get his friend over there. He was curious about the fact that they hadn't gone to the library for lunch but Yami had explained that he had asked for them not to because he had homework he needed to catch up on.

And he was catching up on homework and class-work and schoolwork in general, clearing up his entire schedule for the next week by finishing all of his future assignments by finding them online. Apparently Yami was pretty good with technology or just enough to do what he needed in order to find out how to get his assignments.

Yugi approached him after school as soon as they got outside; Joey and Tristan, Ushio and Tea were standing a little bit away when Yugi cut him off from where he was walking with Mana and Mahado.

Both groups of bystanders were surprised by his sudden appearance and Yami stared at him as if he had lost his mind for a moment before glancing over his shoulder and spotting them staring at him.

"You ready to go?" the smaller teen asked, messing with his backpack and watching him as Yami blinked several times and then furrowed his brows.

"Uh, yeah…sure, I guess…"

"Great. Let's go." And with that he grabbed Yami's arm and pulled him along, waving at Mana and Mahado and leading the way; Yami glanced over his shoulder at his friends who gave him confused looks and then shrugged, just as puzzled as they were.

"So here's the deal," Yugi announced, gaining Yami's attention; his head snapped around and his eyes were immediately on him, blinking once and then twice. "We're going to be taking a slight detour."

"A detour?"

"Yeah, I have to pick up something from the mall," the smaller teen announced, blue-violet eyes seeming to smirk at him; Yami didn't like the look to them but he didn't argue against it. "So before we go to the library, we need to go there."

He wanted to be a smartass and ask him why they had to go there first but it was common knowledge that the mall closed earlier. He may not have ever actually gone to the mall before, but he at least knew that it closed before the library.

"All right."

Yugi smirked as he turned away. At least Yami was an agreeable person.

When they got there Yami looked a little spooked. Yugi wasn't sure why, but he also knew better than to ask so instead he merely focused on getting Yami to the clothes before he realized there was nothing to pick up. By the time they got to Yugi's favorite store Yami was on to him but didn't say anything.

"All right," the smaller announced, smirking at him. "Let's get you some new outfits and then we can start on our project."

A single eyebrow rose in defiance of his request and Yugi crossed his arms and glared, tapping his foot and then gesturing with a nod of his head and a pointed look. Luckily, instead of arguing, Yami just walked inside the store, but Yugi wasn't oblivious to the fact that Yami's body had tensed up somewhere between the time he was outside and the moment he walked in.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Have you never been in a mall before?" he asked, trying to sound disdainful but coming off as completely curious.

Yami grimaced at his question and then muttered, "I tend to avoid them."

"What? Why?"

"Too many people."

"Oh, so that's what it is. You're antisocial."

This time it came out disdainful and full of scorn and it made Yami stop to stare at him in surprise for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "There are a lot more things in life than having everyone's attention," he snapped icily. "And this bad boy shit is exactly that, isn't it? Because you crave attention and this is how you get it."

Yugi's jaw clenched. How the fuck did he know that?

"Shut up. You don't know anything about me."

"I know more about you than you think. I know that you're the bad boy because you want attention. I know that you've had a crush on Tea for a year prior to my knowing you. I know that you're frustrated with me because she likes me over you. I know that you're pissed off at me right now because you can't understand how someone couldn't want attention. I know that your parents—" He shut up abruptly and then turned on his heel and headed for some pants.

Yugi didn't let him off the hook that fast and snatched his wrist in an iron clad grip when he caught up to him. "What was that about my parents?" he snarled in a fierce voice.

Yami looked at him for a long minute and then suddenly—and Yugi could not figure it out for the life of him—his wrist was free and he was walking away from him again. He blinked once, then twice, taking off after him and getting to his side, spitting, "What did you just say about my parents?"

"I did not just say it. I said it five minutes ago. Get your facts straight."

"Well not everyone counts the minutes. I bet you know the fucking milliseconds too don't you?"

Yami did not answer that he had been keeping track of his time in Japan of two years down to the milliseconds as Yugi suggested. 730 days, 1051200 minutes, 63072000 seconds, and 6307200000 milliseconds and that was only the two years. Adding in the months that had already gone by, he was at 789 days, 1136160 minutes, 68169600 seconds, and 6816960000 milliseconds. His stomach hurt with the thought.

Yugi saw a look of pure pain cross his face and froze. Oh crap. Had he hurt him?

"I—"

"Shut up."

Yami was completely emotionless again, walking past him and looking at the shirts in front of him; Yugi was shocked to see that they were in fact not graphic t-shirts. Instead they were tank tops and Yami was regarding them with the most curious expression Yugi had ever seen.

"What? Have you never seen a tank top?"

"I sit next to you every day don't I?"

Yugi didn't realize he was teasing him until Yami's lips quirked up at the corner, his eyes flickering to look at him. He felt a small blush of embarrassment light his cheeks and went wide-eyed; he hadn't blushed in years. It didn't work with the bad boy persona that he showed off at school. He went to answer sardonically but Yami was no longer looking at him and was instead sorting through the clothes, grabbing a couple of tank tops and thrusting them into his hands.

Yugi was no stranger to this because Tea always did this to him when they went shopping so this was no surprise but he was not happy with the fact that he was apparently Yami's slave now. He didn't argue, however, thinking it a waste of breath to do so, and ignored the indignation that flared through him every time that Yami added more clothes. Oddly enough, most of the clothes looked like what Yugi himself would wear and for a moment he was confused. Did Yami expect him to try these on?

Yugi followed him through the store with a small curious expression, confused by this behavior. Yami normally showed common courtesy towards everyone and now he was treating him like his personal slave and that made no sense to him. Unless, of course, Yami was just like everyone else and thought that he had control over him too. The thought hurt in all actuality and he didn't want to admit that to himself.

When they got to the changing rooms, Yami took them from him easily, pausing and staring at him in plain confusion and blinking a few times before his cheeks started turning red and he fled back into one of the stalls. Yugi stared after him, puzzled and a little dismayed by his actions, unsure of what had just happened; ten minutes later Yami had gone through all sixty-something outfits and looked so sheepish it was not even funny.

Now Yami carried his own clothes, putting more than two thirds of the clothes back and then taking the other one back to the register; Yugi nearly choked when he saw the amount they equaled, mouth falling open and his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. He bought expensive things when he had the money and he knew that most of his clothes were normally on the expensive side, but holy crap, he had never spent close to two hundred dollars on one trip!

He had the money, but to spend it in one place…

He started to dig into his pockets but Yami was already two steps ahead of him, pulling his wallet out and handing over a shiny red and black and dark blue debit card to the cashier who rung it up and asked, "Would you like cash change?" with a wide-eyed, flirty expression on her face.

Yami didn't even so much as blink at her when he replied, "No thank you."

Yugi didn't miss the look of frustration that passed over her face or the way that Yami took his bag with a small smile but a look to his eyes that clearly stated he was not interested in her without being too obvious about it. The cashier got the message and pushed the bag at him to which Yami snatched it off the counter and turned to him. "So, did you want to get something too?"

He had not been shopping in so long that he had forgotten that Yugi was not there to carry things for him and he felt his stomach sink as Yugi stared at him in surprise for a few moments and then slowly shook his head. Fuck, how badly had he already messed up?

"No, we should go ahead and get our project going, right?"

Yami frowned. "I guess."

At the library Yugi was shocked out of his mind when Yami managed to roll all of the clothes he had bought and stuff them into his backpack and make it look as he just had extra books in there.

"So, about the clothes thing," Yami murmured, putting his backpack down and turning to him, "I didn't mean to make you carry my things. I…um…"

Yugi could practically see the thoughts behind his eyes, frowning when he saw the embarrassed and slightly worried gleam to his eyes. Now that he paid attention, he could see that Yami's emotions showed in certain areas of his eyes when he hid them away from others trying to read him. They only showed in those designated areas and they flashed for a fraction of a second. He had a feeling that it only happened when he got distracted in his thoughts and he couldn't push them away because of his concentration being severed.

"It's fine."

"No it's not."

"Yami, seriously—"

"Yugi, it wasn't fair and it's not fine. You're not my slave and yet I treated you like one and I'm sorry," Yami cut him off, grimacing. "It was never my intention to do so and I apologize. I…don't normally go shopping anymore."

He realized when the red eyes darkened and narrowed that it was definitely a bad idea to ask about it so instead he pushed his curiosity away and went to the bookshelves, glancing over his shoulder to see that Yami had his face in his palm and was shaking his head. He looked tensed and tired and maybe even exhausted with the posture he had adopted, his shoulders slumped forward and his back no longer straight, his head down and his left arm lying on the table while his right shielded his face. His muscles looked like they had seized up and locked and his stomach twisted.

What the hell was wrong with him?

* * *

"So…you haven't really worn any of the clothes you bought," Yugi commented suddenly to him as they took seats next to each other in the library. Yami looked up in confusion and the smaller teen raised an eyebrow at him, putting his binder down next to him.

"I don't want to wear them just yet," the taller red-eyed teen stated quietly. He would probably never wear them until after he was eighteen and he felt sick with that idea. It was weird, because Yami used to wear clothes like Yugi's when he was younger, well…aside from the fact that most of his tank tops showed off his bellybutton. It was really just a form of rebellion because his parents pissed him off and he decided he would wear whatever the hell he wanted and ordered them online, but he had liked the style. And now, in Japan…

"Why not? They were nearly two hundred bucks," Yugi commented.

He didn't explain that the debit card he had used had a lot more money than just  _that_ on it and instead focused on going through his own binder looking for his rubric. "So?"

"So it's a waste of money if you don't wear them."

They were most likely a waste of money anyways. When he got back, his parents were not going to let him wear those clothes. In fact, he'd probably be put under much worse rules and restrictions than he ever had before and that thought sickened him.

"And you might as well take them back so someone else can buy and actually  _wear_ them, Yami," he pushed at him, narrowing his eyes; if Yami were smaller, he might be able to wear them himself, but because of Yami's taller frame, he definitely doubted it. "You could have spent it on more important stuff if you weren't going to wear them."

"It's none of your fucking business what I do with my money and my purchases, damn it. I didn't even want to go to the mall, Yugi, you did. And for what reason I don't know and I sure as hell don't care to find out," he spat angrily, glaring.

"I was just trying to be nice," the blue-violet-eyed boy argued, glaring back.

"Well don't! I never asked you to be nice to me!"

"You're a real antisocial piece of shit, aren't you?" Yugi snarled at him angrily.

"At least I'm not some kind of whore."

"Really? Because if I look one then so do you."

"By what means?"

"You look like me!"

"No, you look like me, Yugi."

"Bullshit. I bet I'm older than you."

"No, I assure you that  _I_  am older than  _you_."

"Fuck you. There's no way."

"February sixth, you little bastard."

" _Damn_ it!"

"Yeah, so fuck off."

"Just because you're older than me doesn't mean anything!"

"No, it doesn't, but it also doesn't mean anything that you're younger than me!"

Both of them ended up glaring at each other for the first hour of their time at the library. Yami refused to back down and Yugi didn't want yet  _another_ person to have the right to look down on him and it irked him that Yami might do so.

"Look…we have a project we need to do," the taller boy murmured, narrowing his eyes. The smaller continued glaring at him angrily. "We need to call a truce so that we can get this project done as quickly as possible, right? And then we can get a good grade and never have to bother with each other again, okay?"

Yugi felt a small pang of disappointment at Yami's words. It was true, in all actuality. They would probably never really bother with each other after this project. Not with the way that they were always on other ends of the hierarchy at school. Sure Yami was an enigma who never really abided by the weird rules that most geeks followed and he was pretty popular, but all of Yugi's friends aside from Tea—oddly enough the more he thought of them together, the more the pain started to leave him only because he knew that Tea would be happy with Yami if he dated her—had a problem with Yami. Joey hated him because he always snarled at him about calling Yami by Yugi's name, Ushio because Yami frustrated him because Yami beat him up when he too mistook Yami for Yugi—Ushio wanted lunch money that Yugi didn't have—and Tristan didn't really have a problem with him but sometimes he would lose his temper and just go off about whoever it was they were talking about at the time of his blowout and most of the time that would happen to be Yami purely because of Tea's shameless crush on the red-eyed teen. And Yugi didn't think that his friends would get along with Mana and Mahado for the most part.

He didn't really care personally that it was  _Yami_ he would probably never bother with again. Mostly it was just that no one had the balls to stand up to him like the red-eyed teen seemed to. Everyone else cowered when he snapped and there really was no way for him to get them to participate in an argument. Yami did that, however. He needed someone wouldn't back down all the time and who would challenge him.

Even if they were just used for being the butt of his jokes, the relief of his stress. He craved someone—anyone—who would not cower when he lost his temper. Yami at least seemed to be someone who would never back down even if he tried to kick his legs out from under him and smother him with nasty bites that would leave tons of emotional damage later.

Even his friends backed off when he fought back. They pushed and pushed and were stunned when he snarled at them, so stunned that they couldn't even think straight long enough to come up with a response and so went immediately quiet.

Yami didn't do that. So far he bit back where he received one and he wasn't afraid to snap at him and push until he couldn't push anymore. It was a fucking  _relief_  to be around someone who had enough fire to fight back because the rest of them all hid away with their tails between their legs and it was getting annoying.

"All right, so let's stick to one conversation topic and not past that."

"You mean like ground rules?"

"Yeah." Yami had never liked ground rules but if it helped him keep his fucking mouth shut—he'd never really had so much trouble before but his and Yugi's arguing and snapping at each other like this made him frustrated and frustration gave him a big mouth if he wasn't immediately aware of what he was saying—he would embrace them like a lover if he had to.

"All right, fine. So…how about family and accessories?" Yugi announced, narrowing his eyes. "We can't talk about them or ask questions about them. Got it?"

"Sure, as long as you respect my boundaries of money and clothing as well."

"Fine."

"Great."

For a moment both of them were silent and then Yugi smirked at him and his voice was sardonic and sneering when he asked, "So why are you such a geek?"

"Why are you such a slut?"

Yugi couldn't help but laugh at his remark. "Such a geek."

"Such a slut."

Both of them started laughing, grinning and then turning back to their books; Yugi flipped a couple of pages and Yami got his binder open to take out his own rubric and loose leaf sheets of paper.

"So, anyways, I was thinking about it and if we do a poster, we can get up in front of the class for less time," Yugi started, making Yami look up at him. "But then the project rubric says that the more information in the presentation the higher the grade we'll get. So if we do the power point, we can put more information on the slides. But, also, the more slides we have, the less information we could put and have it look like we did more work. We just have to keep a minimum of at least five minutes up in front of the class and we'll be good."

Yami didn't respond immediately like Yugi thought he would. He found it kind of irritating that he had to wait for him to speak but at the same time, he liked the things that Yami had to say and so he didn't rush him. His answers were usually intriguing and sparked something inside of him that he had never really had before—pure and unfiltered anticipation and interest. No one managed to pull that from him anymore. They were all boring and stupid, like dolls. Yami was different—an enigma.

"Okay, but if we do the poster, we can just write smaller so that it looks like we have more information and with pictures, it will look like we've given it a lot more work."

"Okay, but if we do the poster, we have to get up in front of the class and if we do a power point, we can just stand behind the projector and the laptop and talk from there."

"No, he'll make us go over and point it out as we go along."

"We don't know that for sure, though."

"Maybe not."

"What is it with you and not wanting to get up in front of the class? I know you aren't shy and you even agreed."

"Yeah, let's add that to the topic of what we can't talk about."

"What?"

"Talking about oneself. I abhor it."

Yugi pursed his lips. How was he supposed to talk to him if they weren't even going to talk about themselves? How could they even make friends? Yugi wanted to at least know the boy that he was handing his long time crush and best friend over to and how was he supposed to do that if they couldn't even talk about themselves? Plus, what else was there to talk about?

"Fine I guess…" He grimaced and rubbed at the back of his head. "So then, why the hell are you a geek?"

"Why the hell are you a slut?"

"Fair enough. I like being a slut." If being a slut meant un-kissed, crushing on a girl for three years, being treated like a doormat by the four he called his friends, and acting out because he wanted attention. Ooh, ooh, an  _attention_  slut. That definitely worked.

"Well, I like being a geek." If being a geek was code for troublemaking outside of school, being afraid of almost everything since he came to Japan, homesick, and desperate for companionship he couldn't quite get from Mana and Mahado no matter how hard he tried.

"Why?"

"Because I still have plans after high school is over and in order to obtain them, I have to keep my grades at their highest."

"I like the attention."

"I knew it."

"Yes, yes, you knew it."

Yami smirked at him and if Yugi hadn't been paying attention to his eyes, he would have missed it when the playful gleam entered them. "You're a little mental aren't you?"

"And you're a little secretive aren't you?"

"With good reason."

"Not better than mine."

"We're not comparing them because that would get a little too close for comfort."

"Good point."

"Yeah, have to remember the ground rules."

"Yep."

"So is the attention worth it?"

"Worth what?"

"Worth all of the trouble you go through to get it."

Yugi looked away and started messing with his own book again. "Sometimes, not always, but sometimes," he replied with a roll of his eyes. He waited a few minutes and then slowly looked over at him, tilting his head slightly in sardonic challenge. "Are the plans you have for after school worth alienating yourself like you have?"

Yami didn't get offended like Yugi had expected him to.

His eyes became shadowed, flickered but showed no emotion, lowering to the table. His eyelids lowered so that his eyes were only half-open. His gaze stared blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him.

"I don't know."

* * *

"Wait, where are we going?"

Yugi sighed. "My house."

"What? Why?"

"Because we need to start working on the presentation part of the project and if we're going to do a slideshow—"

"We never agreed on that."

"I know that but—"

"Then why would you assume—"

"I'm not assuming anything, I just thought that we should see which one we think is better," Yugi replied, cutting him off easily in order to keep from fighting with him; after two weeks of working together, refining their essay over three different times because Yami really  _did_ have an insane weak point for punctuation, they still fought like cats and dogs every now and then though they had settled to mostly joking around. Yami was actually very easy to mess around with.

It begged the question of why more people weren't like him, why they all got so offended so easily at the smallest things. Why they all became carbon copies. It also begged the question of why he was friends with those four morons—Tea included; they all treated him like a doormat and he was sick of it but he didn't have the energy to deal with the crap that would come of trying to assert his dominance.

"You have a thumb-drive right?" Yami asked after a moment, playing with his royal blue school jacket and watching as Yugi nodded with a small humming noise; Yugi's house was within walking distance and Yami had to appreciate that. He'd gotten a headache from lack of sleep after a phone call from his mother two days before and it was driving him insane. Irritable, cranky, pissy. That was exactly what he was.

Yugi's house was a game shop that looked oddly like a turtle—the mouth was the front door, the turtle's flesh was completely yellow, the roof was green, and Yami guessed they were security cameras or something but there were two black machines just beneath the green roof with the word "Game" in large purple letters. The windows were all red in frame and Yami liked the shade of it—deep but not too deep, kind of bright but not too bright.

Yugi led the way in, the bell on the door ringing as they walked in. Yami glanced around. There were a lot of games. He recognized a lot of them due to his cousin and his own gaming experiences, but holy crap, there were also older games too and it made his lips twitch; at least Yugi's home had a nice selection and didn't discriminate just because the game had grown older than most people liked to play…

"Grandpa, I'm home."

There was a shuffling in the back and Yami turned away from some Duel Monster cards—he had never lost but he never exactly played it anymore since he and his cousin had gotten into a massive fistfight over his winning against him because he accused him of cheating because he had the Egyptian God cards Obelisk the Tormentor, The Winged Dragon of Ra and his very personal favorite the red two-mouthed dragon Slifer the Sky Dragon—to see the short—but taller than Yugi—gray spiky-haired elderly form of Solomon Motou.

"Ah, Yugi, welcome home." And then plum-colored eyes were very suddenly on Yami. "Ah, you must be one of Yugi's friends from school, huh?"

Yami blinked and Yugi rolled his eyes next to him, saying, "Grandpa, this is Yami Sennen. Yami Sennen, this is my grandpa. He's doing a project with me in history class. You remember, the one I that told you about before?"

His grandpa blinked once and then smiled. "Oh yes, he decided to be an asshole and choose North Carolina over Virginia," he said with a wink at Yami while Yugi groaned and covered his face with his hand.

"Yes, Grandpa, that would be Yami."

"I think my stories precede me," Yami muttered with a good-natured roll of his eyes, lips twitching in amusement. "Did he tell you how he demanded we did Virginia without even giving me a chance to say anything?"

Solomon started chuckling and Yugi glared at him fiercely.

"Shut up, asshole."

"Yugi!"

Yami chuckled softly and messed with the strap of his canvas bag. "Let's get started," he announced, looking to Yugi who sighed and rolled his eyes.

"We'll be upstairs, Grandpa."

"Sure."

Yugi led the way upstairs while Yugi glanced over his shoulder once and spotted the Slifer the Sky Dragon Booster Pack; oh yes, he did love the red two-mouthed dragon. Definitely his favorite Egyptian God. The Winged Dragon of Ra looked like a giant chicken as far as he was concerned and Obelisk wasn't really the one he used very often because he was the least favorite of the cards.

Solomon looked over at the cards and then at Yami and smiled a little; he recognized him, Yami realized with a sickening feeling. Yugi's grandfather recognized him…

"Yami."

He turned back to find his shorter look-alike at the top of the stairs waiting, gesturing for him to follow and he glanced back once before hurrying up after him; Yugi led the way to his room and took a seat at the desk, starting up the laptop set there, and pulled it onto the bed, patting the spot next to him. Yami hesitated for a moment, uncomfortable with the fact that they were alone and sitting so close together; everything in him was geared towards pulling away as soon as he sat down and he had to fight off a blind panic in his stomach for several moments.

Yugi noticed. Yami knew he did. But he was nice enough not to mention it.

"So I was thinking that if we do the power point, we could also present one that isn't the complete one and we can turn in the complete one for points while having the shortened be solely for the purpose of presenting. Plus, we might still be able to stick it out behind the projector instead of having to get in front of the class and hold up a poster."

"All right. So then will you keep the thumb-drive or shall I?"

Yugi turned towards him with wide eyes as his laptop booted up. "Wait, so we're going with the power point?"

"We…might as well. It makes sense. We can just copy and paste and it's not as messy as posters tend to be. Plus it's easier to recover on the computer than if we accidentally made a mistake on a poster. We throw something away and we're screwed over." He sighed and looked at the laptop, hitting the enter button and watching as the screen changed to a few rocks and water. He recognized the screensaver as the same of his own laptop. "Maybe I don't want to be in front of everyone but the visual counts just as much as the essay if not more and in retrospect a poster would be a rather stupid idea."

Yugi blinked. "Plus it's easier to take from one place to the next, right?" he offered.

"Yes." He was so tired. "Much easier."

He wanted to ask why Yugi lived with his grandpa. He wanted to know why Yugi lived there in a shop with him. But that would involve family and family was off limits so he didn't ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Story will be updated every Wednesday


	3. Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon), underage drinking, mass confusion and mentions of rape and blackouts due to alcohol consumption  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read the first part of this chapter  
> Also keep in mind that they are teenagers so they do stupid things...like underage drinking and being stupid because that's what teenagers do. We like to be very stupid. Although, normally not THIS stupid for the most part. I do know people who ARE this stupid as teenagers. (And I say stupid with the deepest of affections.)  
> Lemon Note: I have a friend who does it like the situation mentioned below as in dry and they say it's better like that and completely painless if they're careful. ANYWAYS, yeah, so keep that all in mind. Again, if you want to skip the lemon, skip the first part of the chapter. The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...

Chapter III: Mistake

Yami reeked of alcohol and he was swaying slightly to one side, but he looked oddly regal even like this; maybe it was the straight back. Yugi didn't know but he kind of envied the fact that Yami could be piss-faced drunk and still look imposing like this. He took his gaze off the way that Yami's body was leaning to the left and locked eyes with him, mouth opening slightly; Yami's expression was painted with anguish, dark with remorse, and hollow with sorrow.

"My younger cousin got hit by a car and he's in a coma…"

His rich baritone voice was thick and slurred the words at him, all of them coming out of his mouth at once, but there was something about his voice that allowed Yugi to separate them into the sentence they were meant to be.

"Are you okay?"

It wasn't the typical response but the situation was anything but typical. Yami Sennen, one of the "hottest guys in school" according to almost the entire female population of Domino High was drunk in front of him, swaying to one side, and positively  _reeked_ of alcohol. How many people could claim that the smartest guy in school came to their houses like this?

His head shook for a moment and when Yugi opened his mouth again, suddenly Yami had moved to grab him, their lips pressed together and their tongues moving against each other even as Yami's left leg clumsily pushed the door shut behind him and he lurched backwards when he stepped to lock the door behind him. His grip on Yugi's school jacket was tight and restraining, as if he were scared to let go, and Yugi found that oddly enough, he did not want Yami to stop and the way that Yami's tongue worked against his, despite tasting of the beer or wine he had consumed, may not have been the first kiss he had always expected and far from the person he expected it to be with, but it was not horrible either. Maybe a little clumsy because Yami's tongue seemed confused too, batting at his and then pausing and batting again when Yami seemed to run out of things to do. First the swirling clockwise, encircling his tongue, and then counterclockwise and then reverse and back, pausing several times as if he couldn't remember which way he was going before then, and then he was stroking and batting, trying to get Yugi to play with him back.

But Yugi was horribly inexperienced and he had no idea what he was supposed to do but he needed to breathe too and his head felt a little light from the lack of oxygen; Yami seemed to be lightheaded too because he pulled away and then buried his face in the crook of his neck, panting while Yugi drew in large gulps of air, eyes wide and dazed. Hmm…who was Yami's first kiss?

He didn't get a chance to ask before Yami seemed to have caught his breath and his tongue was back, swirling at a slower pace, alternating between swirls and strokes, batting once and then flipping over to so both undersides of their tongues were pressed together; Yugi blinked in shock. The feel was oddly, sinfully delicious, and the more Yami's tongue flipped and touched his, the more their lips worked against each other's, the more he could taste past the alcohol. Maybe Yami had not drunk nearly as much as he initially thought.

Oh crap. This was the first time Yami had ever drank, wasn't it?

That would mean less beer would get him just as plastered as the world's worst alcoholic when they got their fix.

Yami tasted strange. Beneath the coating of alcohol that was starting to fade the more their tongues danced together, he tasted like ice, water, no…that was mint. He tasted like mint, cool and refreshing like ice or water. That was what Yami tasted like, but there was something else mixed in with that too…

He didn't get a chance to think more on that because Yami pulled away and then looked around, almost confused by his surroundings as he breathed harder and then looked at him. Definitely confusion. "Where are the stairs again?"

Yugi had a moment where he wondered if Yami was going to be sick or if he had to pee and while he couldn't decide which to place his bet on, he still led the way upstairs and to his room, about to gesture him into the bathroom until Yami's mouth hit his again and his muscle was completely in his mouth, swirling clockwise and then counterclockwise and back and forth like he had downstairs. Oh yes, Yami was an awkward creature when he was drunk.

Yugi would have laughed his ass off if Yami wasn't kissing him and if Yami's hands weren't messing with his jacket, pulling him closer even as Yami started moving forward and Yugi backed up. Maybe the kiss was a little awkward but it was not bad. It was actually rather enjoyable aside from the fact that Yami seemed so confused with his movements. And it wasn't as though Yami was rough or forcing himself on him; his tongue was soft in its movements even if it was a little on the fast side.

Yugi didn't push him away even when his knees hit the back of his bed and he fell with Yami between his slightly opened legs. It was strange but Yami's groin pressing against his made his pants tighten. The attention Yami was giving him, the softness of his urgent touches, it was definitely different from the attention he was used to getting; it was much different from the attention that he got from Joey who always tried to change him, from Ushio who was always pointing at how short he was, from Tristan who always had that disinterested expression, and especially from Tea who paid him attention for only short amounts of time.

Yami's groin ground into his, his right hand slid under his tank top and up his stomach, pressing flat against his soft skin; Yugi found that he loved this attention that Yami was giving him. It was so much different from the attention that anyone else gave him and the fact that Yami was willing to give it to him, even if it was a little different from the usual attention that he gave him, it was still right in its own way and Yugi didn't want to fight it; after having Tea flirt with the boy on top of him right in front of him, he had to admit that the attention was soothing, a balm that burned through him like warm flames, perfect in its own right. Not to mention that after being rejected in less-than-direct ways several times, to be paid this much attention, even in a drunken haze or by a male, it was rather fulfilling.

Yugi had never felt wanted like this. Half the time he never felt wanted. He felt like Tea used him to make herself seem more selfless when she protected him from whatever she felt was a threat towards him. He felt like Joey used him as a sidekick. Ushio used him as some kind of mix between a punching bag and an advisor for stupid stuff like the girl he wanted. Tristan was just there; they hung out but they were not close and he was definitely just there half the time for Joey because they grew up together. And then there was Yami, who treated him like a person, was not afraid to fight with him, was willing to pay him attention that was not biased in any way, was seemingly willing to give him almost anything he wanted if he just asked.

Now his erection was pressed and grinding, rubbing against him in a sinfully beautiful way that made his pants tighten to a point that he had only once gotten to while watching Tea dance. Yami's hands were warm, his palm was soft and hesitant almost as if he were waiting for him to give direction; Yami didn't move aside from grinding a little more and then pulling his mouth away to press his face into the crook of his neck. And then Yami asked him something that Yugi would not have expected.

"Is this okay?"

Yugi would be lying if he said that it was not okay; in fact, it was more than okay.

"Y…yeah."

He shouldn't have, but he really expected Yami to start sticking his tongue down his throat and he actually missed the feel of it when Yami didn't return his face to his. Instead, he was overwhelmed by the sensation of Yami kissing up and down his neck, wet butterfly kisses that made his back arch further into the body over him and his legs wrap around his waist in unbidden lust. Every time their erections touched, Yugi felt tremors of excitement course through his entire being.

Yami was confused. His head was swirling with too many emotions. He was scared for his cousin and he was scared that he might hurt Yugi, he was scared because he had no idea what to do sexually and he was beyond scared of the aspect of handing control over to Yugi if they went farther. He was tired of being scared and he was tired of the taste of alcohol in his mouth. His head had this strange humming sensation in the back that was annoying but not painful and he was a little lightheaded from not breathing enough. He was turned on beyond belief and his pants were so tight that he felt like he didn't have enough blood in his head; briefly the idea of the humming in the back of his mind was the reason behind not having enough blood crossed his mind but then it was gone again before he could focus on that at all. He was worried about how he would measure up with whoever else Yugi had slept with and then blind panic exploded in the back of his head at the thought that he was going to fully go through with this.

But still his movements did not stop. Did not slow. Did not once falter.

Yugi started scooting backwards, pulling at Yami's shirt to see if he would follow; for a long moment Yami was confused by the movement and stared at him with that same expression he had worn downstairs. His head was tilted slightly, his eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes narrowed a little, his lips were pulled into a small tight line and when Yugi looked into his gaze, it was predominantly lighter than its usual crimson hue. But then he followed, that same expression growing a little different with each small step he crawled.

Yugi only stopped when his head was against the pillow and Yami was hovering over him, kept in his grip by the legs around his waist; Yugi watched him for a moment and then saw that Yami was lost somewhere in his head, still completely confused and staring at the pillow as if he couldn't figure out where it came from. And for the first time Yugi realized that Yami was wearing the clothes that they had gotten at the mall; a black tank top under a black leather jacket that was wrinkled and shown in the dim lighting of his lamp, a pair of black skinny jeans with a chain on the right pocket, a studded gray-black belt and even the flat-soled Converse sneakers with the black and red designs on them.

Why was Yugi letting this happen? Why was Yami doing this? His head hurt a little too much and the confusion was becoming tenfold, his mind was fuzzy, and coherent thought was making it feel like he was growing cotton between his ears. He shouldn't be doing this; he knew that much. He was never supposed to do something like this. It was immoral, wrong…but then it felt so right and he'd never been this hard in his life. Did alcohol do that? Or was this him? Maybe it was Yugi…?

For a moment Yami didn't move and Yugi was briefly curious if Yami would throw up because he looked terrified and a little green around the edges. But then Yami pulled back a little and started to pull at his jacket, looking confused again when he couldn't get it off of him at this position; Yugi sat up for him and Yami looked satisfied and beyond proud of himself when he pulled it off and then looked around and tossed it onto his desk chair.

Yugi would have laughed at the proud look when his jacket landed in the seat cushion but then felt Yami pulling his shirt off, causing him to straighten his arms when Yami made a growling noise of pure frustration at his lack of cooperation. As soon as the shirt was off, Yami was wetting his lips with his soft moist muscle and Yugi was embarrassingly focused on that pink tongue, unable to look away. Yami must have noticed because before Yugi could say or do anything further, his lips were against his again, warm and soft and moving as Yami's tongue worked against his.

Yugi pushed back, closing his eyes, and Yami let him take over, his tongue stilling and his lips pressed against his just enough for him to feel him but not enough to try to take control again; Yugi briefly thought about copying Yami's kissing technique but pushed the thought away immediately to instead map the top of Yami's mouth with his tongue, earning him a warm moan from the back of his throat. He was so busy working on Yami's mouth that he missed it when Yami's hands snapped the button of his jeans and slid his fingers in to work at his hips.

Yugi squirmed. He had never once been touched around the hips. Yami's touch was warm and light and gossamer but it still made him nervous. When Yami's hands settled into a warm firm yet light grip on his hips, his fingertips pressing a little more firmly than his palms, Yugi felt a tremor go through him again. Yami obviously felt it because his hands left after a moment but not for long when Yugi grabbed them and pressed them against his hips again, reassuring him even as his tongue continued working against his; maybe he was just desperate to lose his virginity.

Maybe that was why he was letting Yami continue instead of pushing him away like he knew he should have. Or maybe it was the attention Yami was feeding him. Or maybe it was the prospect of being wanted. Maybe it was the way Yami tasted despite the alcohol tainting his mouth. Or maybe it was the sensation that this, for whatever reason, felt right in every way. Or maybe he was just wrong in the head…but he did not regret what he was doing. He could find no reason to push Yami away.

Maybe it was just some kind of instant infatuation or the attention was getting to his head but either way, he did not stop him when Yami slid his pants down and pulled away from him to get them completely off, kicking his own shoes off in the process; he looked at them like he couldn't figure out what they were doing there and Yugi could not help the small laugh that escaped his lips. Yami looked confused at the sound but then looked at him and beamed as Yugi started to pull at his jacket, throwing it onto the computer chair with his pants as well. While Yami beamed at him, Yugi continued stripping him down to nothing but his underwear and socks; when he tried to get at Yami's socks Yami swatted his hands away with a comical glare.

Yugi didn't mind the whole aspect of socks being on anyways; he was wearing them too and Yami didn't really look inclined towards taking his off either. Besides, having an article of clothing on was oddly comforting since the rest of him was going to be naked. Yami leaned between his legs again and Yugi felt his erection much stronger than he had before; Yami was a lot larger than he had initially felt with the restraining pants he had been wearing. The boxers did nothing to hide the massive bulge and Yugi found that he was excited as hell by this prospect.

At least if he was going to do this, it wasn't a tiny penis that was going to be inside of him; then again, he had a moment where he wondered if a larger penis would hurt more than a smaller one but pushed this away.

Yami buried his face into the crook of his neck and mumbled a soft, "You okay?" that was slurred but sounded oddly coherent at the same time.

"Mmhmm."

"Want me to stop?"

"No."

Yami ignored the nagging panic that swept through the back of his mind and closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a breath. "You want to keep going?" This time it was thick with something other than the alcohol consumption, fear taking its place as his undertone.

"Yes."

Yugi didn't get a chance to say anything else because Yami's mouth was back on his and he was over whatever fear that had been in his voice; his left hand was suddenly sliding up his leg and under his boxers but was not touching his erection yet. Yugi waited a single second and then counted in his head, letting the fear of Yami's penis being too big to fit inside of him despite the fact that he was supposed to stretch to accommodate him flow through him before pushing it away again. Yami moved his hand when Yugi didn't object and then gripped at the top of Yugi's boxers, pulling the waistband slightly; Yugi felt nervousness course through him as Yami pulled away from his mouth and started easing his boxers off.

Yugi would have panicked if he didn't see the look on Yami's face. He himself looked scared but he also had this kindness to his eyes that very clearly stated that he was not going to hurt him. Even past the confusion it was very clear in his eyes and Yugi loved it because it was different from the looks that anyone else had ever given him. Even his own parents had never given him that look, not that they were around very often to give it to him, and while his grandpa was the only constant parental figure in his life, he was just as commonly in Egypt as he was in Japan.

Then again, he had never been in a situation where someone would have to give him a look such as this one.

He watched Yami shed his own boxers and swallowed. Yugi himself was not tiny but he was just above average at eight inches and Yami was definitely bigger than that; he bit his lip hard, wetting them a moment later as Yami pulled him a little closer and then looked around in thorough confusion again.

"We'll have to go dry," Yugi muttered, frowning. "I don't have lubricant or lotion. We could just use spit, maybe?"

Yami stared at him as if he had lost his mind for a moment and then murmured, "Blowjob?" in a thick, slurred, confused voice.

"Err…I could try…"

And then Yami ignored it altogether and gently started to touch his anus, his index finger rimming the ring of muscle for a moment and then pressing his finger inside. Yami may have been an awkward drunk. And he may have been clumsy, but he was not unkind and he was not uncaring. As soon as Yugi tensed around his fingertip because of the uncomfortable sensation of it all, he didn't move it. Yugi could not relax for a full minute, nerves getting to him, but Yami also didn't move at all, watching him with a weird expression, a mixture between confusion and concern and sharp intelligence behind the haze of alcohol.

Apparently the beer he had consumed did nothing to impair his judgment outside of this confusion that seemed to have constant residence on his face this entire night. When Yugi relaxed completely again, only then did Yami move his finger further inside of him, sheathing it and pausing for several moments before pumping it slowly in and out of him; it was uncomfortable to the extreme at first and then it started to feel good.

Yugi was still confused about why he was letting this happen. In fact his mind was still trying to catch up with his actions. He was actually doing this and the idea seemed foreign to him. He had imagined his first time to be with Tea, to be with a girl, and yet here was Yami who was far from female with his throbbing erection pressing against his thigh when he moved to get a better angle with his finger.

Yami was confused as to why this was happening as well. He'd never exactly felt anything for anyone else and yet here he was thrusting a finger in and out of Yugi Motou of all people. The school bad boy was beneath the "geek" of the school.

When his second finger entered him Yugi tensed up again and Yami waited the entire time until he relaxed again thirty seconds later; he waited a little longer until he felt that he should move again, and Yugi felt an overwhelming amount of pleasure as Yami's fingers started to touch his prostate. The mewl came out unbidden and confused by the sensation but Yami laughed softly with a small smile at the adorableness of the sound; Yugi swallowed a little and then Yami leaned forward and pressed his lips to his, the mewling making tingles run down the taller boy's spine.

The third finger was noticed but his body didn't try to reject it like it had the other two; instead he welcomed it mentally with a small mewl. The pumping continued and Yugi's tongue continued playing with Yami's inside his mouth. He had to admit that his fingers were somewhat clumsy and sloppy in their actions but they hit his prostate each time and the pleasure made Yugi's stomach coil. Yugi let out a whimper at the loss when Yami's fingers pulled away but then Yugi felt the head of his penis at the entrance and his stomach made a small jumping motion.

This was actually happening…

It was mind boggling that he did not want this to stop and it was more so how much Yami cared, how much attention he was paying to him.

Yami had pulled away, watching him closely as he pushed in a little and every time Yugi tensed Yami stopped; how he was doing this when he was drunk was beyond him but then maybe it was just a testament to the caring nature he had been exposed to every time they were around each other despite the way they fought constantly, the caring nature he had witnessed upon seeing him and Mana and Mahado after school the first day of their project. Yami seated himself six minutes later, both hands falling to brace himself at the sides of Yugi's shoulders, holding himself up and watching him again.

Yugi nearly cracked up when Yami's tongue snaked out the left side of his mouth, curving up and the underside of the muscle deliciously pink and inviting; Yugi furrowed his brows and found that Yami was completely focused now, tongue out and pressed against the skin of his mouth to make this display of concentration even more comical and somehow worrisome. The only thing that kept him from laughing out loud at this look was the single realization that they were going bareback and without lubrication and it was enough to make fear press into his skeletal system.

"W-wait," Yugi stammered, grabbing at his shoulders and watching with wide eyes as Yami stopped and looked at him, thoroughly confused and his tongue still sticking out of the left corner of his mouth, blinking a few times. "A-are you…are you clean?"

Yami blinked once and then again and his tongue somehow remained as it was even around his words as he murmured, "Of course I am. I'm still a virgin" in a singsong voice that made Yugi smile a little and nod to which Yami slowly started moving a little, completely missing it when Yugi admitted, "So am I" under his breath.

He had no rhythm. He was completely, utterly sloppy and Yugi couldn't match his thrusts which were slow but growing in speed for the life of him, finding that it was nearly impossible for him to even know when Yami was pulling out and thrusting in. He didn't pause from hitting his prostate each time however, which was kind of surprising to Yugi because, hell, he couldn't understand how Yami managed to remember it when he was drunk like this.

He had to admit that it was kind of funny in its own weird way. Yami, piss-faced drunk was sloppy as hell, had no rhythm for Yugi to match, was hitting his prostate with the goofiest sex face ever. Tongue out like a concentrated little kid, eyes shaded with focus, his breath coming out in ragged pants as his thrusts grew tenfold in speed, sounding almost like a dog with the speed and heavy breaths that came out of him with his movements. Yugi did not find this to be degrading in the least, however, because he was obviously taking care of him despite it all, because he was making this as enjoyable as possible for him, and the noises he was making mixed in with his mewls of pleasure, were somehow even more stimulating and somewhat comforting.

He wasn't sure how it was comforting but it was. It was the strangest thing in his mind but it was what it was. He guessed it was because Yami was enjoying himself just as much as Yugi was and again Yugi had a moment where the idea that the attention might have been the major factor in all of this. It was new, it was different and Yugi had never been wanted in this way. He'd never even been given a look of lust before Yami had walked into his house.

Most glances at him were scornful for his troublemaking and others were curious as to what the choker around his neck meant. Some were looking at him as if he was too small to be worth anything and he hated the attention that he was given outside of what Yami showed him.

Yami kissed at his neck now, overloading his senses with the overdose of attention that was hitting him. The kisses were heated with his breath as he panted, wet with the small licks of his tongue between his lips, and overwhelming with the affection that hit him with the touches to his neck.

Yugi arched his back into him and Yami panted again without so much as pausing his movements. He was warm against him, his penis was hard and pressed between their bodies due to the movements and Yugi brought a hand up to grab at his shoulders, sinking his nails into his skin. His right hand traveled to his chest and then to his stomach where a pack of six abs rolled beneath his palm, the sensation even more impossibly stimulating.

He felt stupid for not having looked Yami over aside from his penis before they started but he felt that maybe it was better to have it be a surprise like this because it was definitely more fun this way. If he had looked it would have been more of a little display rather than exploration during sex.

Again Yami's mouth was at his neck and Yugi felt a small sting against his flesh when Yami nipped a little too hard to be gentle but not hard enough to actually hurt past the initial moment of his teeth against his soft skin. But it was enough to make the coil in his stomach tighten and then release and his orgasm coated Yami's stomach and his hand and the tightening of the muscles in his ass made Yami come a second later, the release warm in his body.

Yami fell against him a second later, his breathing hard against his neck; he was heavy but not too heavy, still kissing his neck warmly before he pulled away after a few minutes to catch his breath and fall at his side. Yugi was lucky that his bed had been unmade as he and Yami would have been rolling on his comforter otherwise. When Yami settled into his side, it was strange but still proved to show that he cared even if only in the moment; he was pulled closer to the taller boy's body, held firmly in his side with his head taking residence in the crook of his neck again. Yugi had to squirm to get the top of the sheets with his fingertips but when he did, he pulled them over them and Yami was passed out with a mumbled, "Night."

Yugi didn't know if he should repeat the statement and instead closed his eyes and fell asleep with Yami holding him tightly and the single thought that he might be able to get used to it.

* * *

Yami woke up to a strange raw throbbing in the back of his head and a mouth as dry as cotton and tasting disgusting. His face was pressed against something smooth and warm that kept going up and down and there was a soft noise somewhere above his head every time it fell back down again. He stirred and then froze when he realized who it was he was sleeping next to.

Panic spread through his entire system. Yugi, this was Yugi…

He breathed hard for a few long minutes and then looked around. Maybe he was a little fuzzy on the details, but he knew that he had in fact been inside of the smaller teen, that they'd made out, and his heart twisted in pain. He was in so much trouble. He was in trouble…

That throbbing was growing a little, irking him. Yami didn't need a throbbing head while he was still reeling from the panic that had settled into this system upon awakening. He was in so much trouble and he couldn't even think properly with that steady pulse of pain. He rolled away from him and looked around. His clothes were on the computer chair and that wasn't too far from where he was. He thanked all the gods he knew of and then started out towards them; the next thing he knew he had a sharp pain in the back of his already aching head, he was on the ground on his hands and knees hissing with pain, and then he was staring at the nightstand that harmed his already hurt head. In any other situation he would have called himself out on his own stupidity for glaring at it, but then he realized that Yugi might be awake and spun around.

Yugi had not moved an inch and he was breathing rather evenly. So he wasn't awake yet.

Yami let out a relieved breath and then slowly got to his feet, rubbing at the wound from the nightstand and trying to prevent making the throbbing even worse. Yami was, in every way possible, with no means of lessening the blow, disgusted with himself. His fingers trembled as he pulled his shirt on, grimacing at the dried substance on his stomach and shaking his head; he would have to deal with it as soon as he got home.

Disgust and terror were a dangerous combination. His chest twisted with it. His blood was tainted with it. How had he lost himself so completely? How had he been so stupid? First he got plastered, then he went to Yugi's home and apparently he fucked him.

The disgust just grew.

First of all, he should never have touched the fucking beer. He should never have gotten his old ID out that falsely stated he was twenty-one. He should never have decided it was a good idea to put to use the clothing he had bought from the mall. He should never have tricked that poor bartender into thinking he was of age. He should never have ordered such hard liquor in the first place. Fuck, the vodka had burned his throat until it rested in his stomach and scorched his entire system from the inside out.

Second, he should never have chosen to come to Yugi's home of all places. There was the threat of his grandfather having answered the door. There was the fact that he had completely and irresponsibly thrown himself at Yugi when both of them were straight and this should not have happened. There was the possibility of being seen, recognized. And there was the idea that he had fucked Yugi, that he had most likely forced him…

Third, there was the factor of shame. His family…oh his family was going to kill him if he didn't kill himself first. And how could he have possibly fucked up so horribly? How could he have gone to Yugi and not someone like Mana or  _Mai,_ who practically screamed of sex with just her very presence? And what did that say about him? It clearly meant he was the disgusting creature that his father had always hated.

And then of course, that was even more shame thrown at him, marring his family if this ever got out. And what about at school? Yugi could claim he was raped—if Yami did rape him, he wasn't sure because his head hurt too much to think of this—and then what? So many different things could happen, so many different things could quite possibly destroy him and it was all because he picked up that stupid ID card.

All because of  _one_ little phone call.

Yami struggled with his shoes, his hands shaking and his head throbbing even more now that he was reprimanding himself. And what would this do to Yugi exactly? If he raped him, how badly would that impact him? Would he get past it? Would he drown in it? Let it rule his life?

He didn't think he could live with himself if he had truly forced himself on Yugi. If he had raped him… If his memories actually came back and he raped him…

A tremor passed through his system and left him cold with panic and fear, an overwhelming sense of disgust he could not shake.

What did it mean that he would rather seek male company than female while he was drunk? Did it mean anything? But then, what did it mean if he had raped him?

That single word kept repeating in an endless loop.

_Rape, rape, rape…_

His blood began to pound in his ears and he felt his throat close in terror. What would he do if he had? And did you really sleep in the same room as someone who had raped you, let them hold you in your sleep? He trembled and tied his right shoe laces before shooting upright and staggering backwards from the pain that coursed through his head.

Blood, alcohol, rape…

Blood, alcohol, rape…

Yami fled.

And Yugi sat upright and groaned into his hands, shaking his head. Last night had been a mistake. That was all it was. Yami was supposed to get with Tea so at least one of them in this unrequited love would be happy. Yugi would get over her and the fact that the biggest geek in school had stolen her away.

All he had wanted was attention. He had craved it and he had succumbed to it and now this was the result. A boy who fled his room as if his ass were on fire, clear memory of the night that Yami might never fully remember, and the deep unsettling sensation of the fact that he was in fact a true slut for attention, that he would bend for it if offered the right amount.

He should have said no. He should have pushed him away. He should have let his first time actually mean something. He should have turned a blind eye at the attention Yami had shown him in his drunken stupor.

"This was a mistake."

Attention got him here. Attention shattered every reality he had about himself. And now he didn't know how to pick up the pieces.

* * *

Somehow, through all the awkwardness of the last week of the project, the two of them managed to finish it. They didn't mention what happened and their conversations were strictly project-based. And in the midst of it all, Yugi managed to convince himself that he was just making sure that Yami stayed safe because he was drunk and that was what you did when someone showed up at your house drunk.

You took care of them. You made sure they didn't throw up in their sleep. You let them do what they needed to in order to sleep. You let them do this because that was what you had to do.

And Yami told himself that it was just the depression, just that stream of emotions that pulled him down. It was the news of Mokuba getting hit by the car. It was that which led to the alcohol. The alcohol mixed with his depression and made a milkshake of disgusting actions.

Both of them were straight. They were not gay.

* * *

"All right, let's see what you two have," the teacher announced, looking at them.

Yami didn't let the awkward and very obvious tension between them unsettle this. Instead he took his place at his side and read off the slides that he knew to while Yugi read off his own, the two of them picking up immediately where the other left off and avoiding looking at each other the entire time.

When they finally finished, the class was clapping and the teacher was watching them as they headed back to their seats across the room. He didn't comment on how they acted. Instead he merely said, "Congratulations, you two. You have the highest grade so far."

He didn't read it out so that meant it was either a ninety-seven or somewhere higher. Yami didn't ask because he didn't care. Yugi didn't ask because he was too busy listening to people around him whispering, "That's because Yami did all the work" in low voices just loud enough for him to hear.

He would have told them to fuck off but he didn't have the energy. He had used it all just forcing himself to stand next to Yami the entire time instead of fleeing. Besides, what right did they have to say anything about him? None of them knew him at all. Hell, his  _friends_ didn't even know him.

At lunch three days later the twins were immediately onto him.

"You're acting weird," Mana reported with a smirk.

"Are you okay?"

Yami smirked at them. "Maybe I've hit puberty a second time," he replied in a serious voice; he might as well have, with the awkwardness that seemed to suffocate him. And he was always on his toes, alert with fear at the idea that the haze in his head might just clear and he'd find that he had indeed raped Yugi Motou…

Both of them snickered and a strange hyena laugh escaped Mana, causing both of them to look at her and then burst out laughing at her blushing face.

"You never hit it in the first place," the blonde decided, wrinkling her nose at him indignantly because of his display of immaturity. Mahado chuckled and Yami rolled his eyes before shifting his position uncomfortably, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and his jaw in his hands.

Someone was watching him. They were practically boring holes into his flesh with the stares he was receiving.

"Please, you know I'm number one on your hottest voice in school list," Yami replied dryly. "Not to mention you got a vote from the rest of the girls in school and they all agreed with you so of course I hit puberty or you guys wouldn't like my voice as much, right?"

She blushed and then she was laughing as she nodded, saying, "That's true. If you had a high-pitched voice we couldn't really put you on that list."

Mahado cut into their teasing with a frown. "Hey, Yugi Motou is staring at you again."

Yami looked at his tray and didn't lift his eyes, pretending to do homework after a few minutes; Yugi was in fact staring at him, eyes narrowed slightly in frustration and a small, barely noticeable scowl forming on his adorable face. He watched as his "bedmate" got up after a moment and dumped his uneaten tray into the trash and he saw when Yami's eyes flickered over and his body went tense before he sat back down in his seat.

Yami's tense posture did not change. Instead, at some point, Yugi found himself staring at ashen white knuckles gripping the table, blocked from view of the twins by his textbook. So he was making Yami nervous with his staring; maybe he should have felt bad but he couldn't find it in himself to care. What was this? What was this bullshit about him getting plastered and Yugi letting him fuck him?

Why hadn't he stopped himself? Was the attention really worth that?

Maybe it had been in the moment but it definitely wasn't now.

Which was definitely not a new thing for Yugi.

Half the things he did when he wanted attention served their purpose but also made him feel like shit afterwards. Now was exactly one of those times. He hadn't really thought about the awkwardness that would ensue after they did so because it never really crossed his mind. And he never once considered the fact that their fragile, barely-formed friendship falling so completely would affect him in any way.

However, the fact that he had crossed one of his own lines to get that attention was disgusting. He had always said that he would never let the attention go further than common things. Sleeping with someone else because they showed him a little attention was far from common and it was sickening.

His own standards had been lowered, shattered. And there was no way to fix it because it had already happened and it wasn't as if he could go back in time and stop himself. It had already happened and now he was struggling to comprehend it. To truly comprehend the meaning of his own actions.

Was he truly so stupid as to  _sleep_  with someone for a little attention?

He had never done it before. Not once in his life. In fact, he never once even flirted with someone aside from Tea for attention, and that was because she was his crush so he felt that it was okay to do so. Letting Yami fuck him? Not so much.

Maybe there was something he was overlooking in his need to understand, but he couldn't think of anything. Yami meant nothing to him. He was the geek who fought with him and wasn't afraid of his temper, who treated him like an actual person.

Was that it?  _Could_ that be it?

The attention was different, came from a source that he had never imagined. From someone who treated him as something more than some kid who was desperate for attention.

He was really starting to hate himself because, by all means, this never should have happened. He had always had standards, lines that he had always refused to cross, and now…

"Dude, why are you staring at him?" Joey asked, nudging his shoulder with his elbow. Yugi didn't look away. "Seriously, man, what's so interesting? Did the asshole do something to you? Do we need to beat his ass?"

"No, I think he's admiring his clothes," Tristan said with a smirk. "Wishing he was taller."

"I'd rather wear a garbage bag," Yugi laughed spitefully.

"You shouldn't judge him because of what he wears outside of school," Tea cut in, making Yugi look over at her; she was giving him a disapproving look and he wanted to knock it off her face. "There's more to life than appearances."

For the first time in his life, Yugi wished she would shut the fuck up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	4. Naivety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon)  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read...actually, just skip this chapter because the whole thing is a lemon, which I did not notice until I was editing it again. Wow...Um, actually, you could probably just skim through and get the conversations if you wanted...oh, and the last part. The third part isn't a lemon.  
> Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...

Chapter IV: Naivety

One month later found Yugi staring at the teacher as if he had grown two extra heads while Yami looked like he was about to throw up. Again, he had partnered them for a project. Again, Sennen and Motou.

"Wait, what? You gave everyone else completely different partners," Yugi protested, making Yami look at him with wide eyes and the teacher stare in surprise. "So why would you partner us up again? That doesn't make any sense!"

"This is the first time you've gotten a good grade in my class and you did the best in this class when you were partnered together. Why would I change partners for you two when you need all the help you can get?"

The rest of the class started laughing and Yugi glared at the teacher as rage made his blood boil; when he looked at Yami the red-eyed teen was staring at the teacher with narrowed eyes.

"Actually, he got a higher grade than me on our last test," he said quietly, his voice carrying and somehow making the rest of the class go silent. "So, in all actuality, partnering us up together is prohibiting the rest of the class, not adding anything to our grades."

Yugi gave him a sharp look. He didn't need help convincing this idiot to give him a new partner. And he didn't  _ask_ for his help with it anyways.

"Well then, I guess it's best to put the two over achievers together for another project so that everyone else is graded on their own efforts, right?"

Yami narrowed his eyes further. "You're making the mistake of assuming that I did all the work and that's not true. Yugi did his half and I did mine. So why are we being partnered a second time if that's the case?"

"You work well together."

"I can work with anyone just as well as I can work with him."

"Yes, but Mr. Motou might not do the same."

"So in other words you are unjustly making me baby-sit him in order to make sure that he gets a good grade as well."

"I am not changing your partners," the teacher said through his teeth, annoyed. "Deal with it amongst yourselves."

"Unless, of course, you're really just trying to make sure that we don't bring up someone  _else's_ scores because you separated us. Because, surely, having the two smartest kids in the class doing their project together a second time is not coincidence. And it's not like we're going to learn anything from this—"

"Enough, Mr. Sennen. Get to work."

Yami's jaw clenched and for a moment his expression was twisted, murderous, gaze gleaming with bloodlust, but then his face was completely smooth again and he was instead rolling his eyes and looking at the rubric. Yugi didn't want to move across the class again but when he found that Yami refused to look up, he finally went over and took the seat directly in front of him again, turning around to look at him.

Yami finally looked up and his entire expression was guarded. There was no leak of emotion in the deep red irises.

Perhaps Yami had  _let_ him see his emotions before. And now he was just proving that he had full control over himself. That he could shield himself with no effort.

Again, Yugi envied that.

Yami didn't speak for a long time and then he looked down and murmured, "It's your turn to choose what the topic will be" in a bored voice.

Yugi looked at the list and stated, "Egypt."

Yami froze for a millisecond and then nodded a little and looked at the clock. Still another half hour before they got out.

The rest of the period was spent in silence, Yugi drumming his fingers on his desk while Yami went about circling his weak points on his rubric again, looking at the paper with that same emotionless barrier to his face while his insides twisted.

They had been avoiding each other well, Yami even taking a completely different route to class after they had accidentally bumped into each other in the hallway when he hadn't been looking where he was going; when the two had collided, both of them had hit the ground but only Yugi had gotten up immediately, Yami instead opting for staring in complete shock for a second while the smaller boy looked at him in annoyance that shifted slowly into confusion and eventually concern. When he had opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, however, it was Joey's voice that came out, snickering that Yami  _should_ be at his feet like that while Yami snarled that he should be put down like a dog which had broken them out into a shoving contest that Ushio had burst out laughing at and Yugi interrupted only when he saw that Yami was getting desperate to get out of there because of the close proximity to the smaller boy.

That was the only time they had interacted since that night and since that incident Yami had even started taking a much longer route to class that got him there only seconds before the bell rang which always earned him a surprised look from the teacher.

In all honesty, Yugi suspected it was the teacher wanting this awkward tension between them—Yami arriving almost late to class and fleeing as soon as the bell rang—to be finished. And he couldn't agree more. He was tired of it. He had never had someone actively avoiding him like this and it irritated him to no end. And there was never anything he could say to stop the red-eyed teen because he moved far too fast and even if he caught up with him there was no way he would talk to him.

As the bell rang Yami did not immediately jump up and Yugi did not either, the red-eyed teen moving more slowly because Yugi didn't at least  _seem_ mad and Yugi because there was no reason for him to run when Yami didn't seem to have one either. He also had the chance to cut off any escape Yami attempted being in front of him, but he didn't need to anyways because the taller boy didn't seem like he was going to run just yet.

"Same schedule?" Yugi said, turning to him as they walked out of class.

Yami blinked and then looked at him. "Is that  _really_ such a good idea, Yugi?"

"Why not? It's another month-long project. No, actually it's  _two_  months and it's three times the grade the other was. If we did so well the first time, it's best to stick to the schedule we already had going for us, right?"

"That's assuming that we actually do work together on this."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean to say that if we do work together, we are just proving the teacher right about us being a good team and then we will never get rid of being partnered together."

"We could have fucked up the first time but I'm not fucking it up this time," Yugi spat angrily, glaring. "This is forty-five percent of our grade and I'm not about to fail it. I refuse to have my ass handed to me because we can't deal with whatever the fuck it was that happened the first time."

Rape? Rape? Was it rape?

"Very well," Yami finally relented, unable to turn off the revolting cycle of that single word, that single question, revolving in his head. "Library after school then?"

"Can't…"

"What?"

"Can you come over?" His binder nearly fell out of his hand and he blinked a few times, staring at him in pure shock but Yugi barely even blinked at his sudden reaction. "I have things to do at home and I can't bother with the library today. Now yes or no?"

Yami hesitated, a split second of indecision, and then finally murmured, "Yes. All right. I can be there. Right after school?"

He debated it for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, right after school."

Yami met him outside at the doors, Mana and Mahado already walking away because he didn't want them to witness the awkwardness that he had a feeling would ensue again. Yugi pulled his bad boy persona instead of greeting him, giving him a single glance and then walking past him without a word.

Any other situation, anyone else, and Yami would have snarled at them to turn around and then possibly decked them. But because it was Yugi, because of what he might have done, it felt oddly right, like Yugi was putting him in his place and that felt a hell of a lot better than if he had greeted him kindly, tried to catch up on things.

When they got there, the first thing Yami noticed was that Yugi did not call out a greeting. Instead he turned around and flipped the sign on the door over to say Open to anyone walking by. And then they spent the next two hours behind the counter, Yugi dealing with the occasional customer and working with Yami on the project at the same time, occasionally pointing out information they should copy down.

Yami still did not ask about his grandfather. Because family was off limits in terms of conversation as they had stated in the library during their first project. And besides, it was not like he deserved any answers anyways.

"Okay, come on," Yugi announced, getting up and flipping the sign again. Yami blinked when Yugi headed upstairs and it took him a minute to make his legs move to follow him, hesitating at the bottom of the stairs and then finally making himself move again.

Instead of the bedroom Yugi took him into the living room and sat on the end of the couch, using the armrest as a brace for the textbook he had perched against it, writing in his notebook. When Yami took his seat at the opposite end of the couch, it definitely proved difficult. They could not compare notes and so they had no idea if they were writing the same thing, which was what finally made Yugi lose his temper.

"Fucking—damn it, Yami, I'm not going to fucking bite you," Yugi spat angrily, startling the red-eyed teen who's head snapped around to stare at him in pure shock. "You don't have to sit on the other side of the stupid couch. I can't even read what you're writing if you're all the way over there. So just fucking move over here."

It took a minute and Yugi was about to just jump the space between them when Yami finally moved, inching towards him and then getting just close enough that Yugi could read what he was writing without straining his eyes or neck.

Yugi wondered if he remembered what happened. If he remembered it correctly. He wasn't really thinking when he leaned over and pressed his lips into Yami's. The surprise was obvious because Yami's body tensed, his pencil fell onto the floor, and Yugi pushed at his lips but Yami didn't respond at all no matter the force he put behind his mouth.

He wasn't sure what made him do it. Maybe it was the lack of attention Yami paid him. Maybe he was just desperate for some kind of connection with another person again, that sickening part of him that had grown almost attached to the idea of sleeping with another person despite the fact that it had only happened once. Or maybe he just got tired of the awkwardness. Maybe he wanted to taste him again, feel his lips moving against his, feel their tongues stroking against each other. Maybe he just got tired of writing. Maybe the project couldn't quite hold his interest. Or maybe he was just curious to see how Yami would respond to this now, with a clear head.

When he pulled back, Yami's red eyes were still perfectly wide, mouth open slightly in a small "o" shape, his body still rigid with the surprise of his action, and then Yugi took note that the taller teen wasn't breathing. It was like he had frozen completely for that single kiss.

And then Yami was back again, blinking once and then twice and leaning over to grab his pencil off the floor. It frustrated the hell out of him, and that was definitely what motivated his next actions. When Yami pulled back and was about to write, to act as if nothing happened, his lips crashed against his again and when Yami didn't react right away, he pulled away just enough to snarl, "You frustrate me so fucking much."

Yami's voice was small, soft, nearly inaudible. "Why?"

It wasn't about his statement. Or maybe it was the smallest bit. But mostly it was towards himself. Why did he like this? Why did it not feel wrong? Why did he actually like the idea of Yugi kissing him despite his father, despite his mother, despite the consequences? Why did he let this go on? Why did Yugi think this was a good idea? Why did  _he_ think this was a good idea? Why did his pants tighten the smallest bit? Why did his body seize up in shock but relax as if it were totally normal, as if he shouldn't punch Yugi in the face like he would have done only months ago?

Did his mistake go so far as to dig into his judgment, cloud it and make this seem right? Or maybe the only mistake here…was him.

"You just do," Yugi growled back, reaching over and grabbing at Yami's school uniform jacket; Yami didn't fight him this time and he was not passive either. When his lips pressed to his again, Yami's mouth moved against his almost immediately and then he was pushing him back slightly with the movement.

It was so wrong. Logic told him it was wrong. Years of being a Sennen taught him it was wrong. Years of being exposed to his father taught him it was wrong. His entire body rejected this, however, and told him it was right.

In that moment, in that kiss, it was all right. Everything about it. Everything happening. It was all right. It was not wrong. There was nothing wrong with it.

How right his body claimed it was. His pants were tightening significantly now. His mind was falling into a frenzied lust that blocked out all doubts. And his fingers were trying to grip at Yugi's skin, his flesh, trying to feel him against him.

He wanted closer. He wanted Yugi closer. He wanted him to make the sounds that he remembered from that night despite the fact that most of it was a complete black picture no matter how many times he tried to recall it.

And now he was completely sober and this was happening. He was pushing Yugi back into the couch and he was knocking their work so far on the ground. His hands were gripping at the jacket and forcing Yugi to remain as close as possible to him without actually touching aside from their lips.

Yugi twisted a little and he drew his legs up onto the couch without once breaking the kiss, though he did end up kneeing Yami's torso on accident, surprised that it did nothing to phase the red-eyed teen in the least.

Maybe Yami was just as desperate as he was for that feeling of being attached to someone else as he was. Maybe even if he couldn't remember everything, maybe he remembered the feeling of it, that strange comforting sensation and the idea of being held close for once instead of pushed away.

When they finally did break away again, they were panting and Yami looked terribly confused but also excited and more than a little curious. His tongue ran over his lips and then drew them between his teeth and the red eyes closed as he mulled this over.

It couldn't be wrong if it felt so right…right?

But his dad called it disgusting and unnatural, impure. That was what his father called these things and it terrified him to no end to think of what his father would say. He would be announced a freak of nature in his eyes…

But that thought, for whatever reason, was not strong enough to push away his desire. It was not strong enough to fight off the haze that was entering his mind. It was not strong enough to make him  _want_ to stop.

And because he didn't want to stop, he kept going.

His lips pressed against Yugi's firmly and his grip on his jacket changed, his right hand pulling away to slide over the flesh of his stomach, up his torso and then press against the left half of his ribcage. Yugi's heart was pounding beneath the palm of his hand. It was dancing, fluttering in its rhythm. It was so oddly comforting to Yami that it spurred him on further.

He pinched him and Yugi yelped against his lips, Yami swallowing the sound as his tongue immediately slipped into his mouth. Yugi recognized the taste of him now. He tasted of mint and of something like dark chocolate and the combination—while he normally preferred milk or white over dark—made him moan in pleasure. Yami devoured this sound greedily, running his tongue over Yugi's immediately, stroking softly and ignoring the hesitance in the back of his mind.

He still didn't remember everything. He couldn't remember what Yugi tasted like because he was overwhelmed by his own alcoholic breath. He could not remember what he had done to kiss him, only that he had. He could not remember if Yugi had pushed him away, only that he had forced himself onto the smaller teen. He couldn't remember if he hurt him or if he prepped him or if he even used lubrication or if he had worn a condom…

Fuck, there were too many blank areas in his memories, too many black spots that left him confused and horrified, fearing the worst of himself.

He  _did_ however remember that it was  _him_ who ran and not Yugi. He was aware of how much of a coward he was. He was aware of the fact that he woke up with his head against Yugi's chest. Which meant he hadn't pushed him away afterwards, but that also could have just been because he was too tired to do so. He didn't know and he hated that.

But he used his tongue like he thought it should be used. Stroking, sliding beneath his, pressing over and under, mapping the inside of his mouth, running over the smooth backs of his teeth, gently gliding over his in a show of handing over dominance.

Yugi did not waste time. His tongue stroked and rubbed along the underside of his. It slid along the sides and pressed flat against the roof of his mouth. He stroked at his teeth, at the smooth skin of the ridges of his palate. He even nudged at his cheeks with the pink muscle. And while Yami found it to be weird since he had never thought cheeks to be part of kissing before, Yugi merely found it funny that his cheeks were not as smooth as the underside of his tongue, as his lower jaw.

Yugi finally pulled back to breathe and both of them panted for air, staring at each other; he found he was just as confused as the red-eyed teen. Why did this feel good? Why did he want more? Why did Yami make him feel good? Was it the attention or something else? Why was he practically begging Yami to fuck him again without words? Why had he kissed him in the first place and why was he still going with it?

Did this make him any less of the person he was before? Because he wanted Yami's penis inside of him that instant and he felt no shame or guilt for admitting that to himself? Should he feel ashamed? Or disgusted? Guilty for wanting this when his crush who he was just  _beginning_ to get over had craved this for two long years when he had not even wanted it since the day it happened?

Yami was completely sober and doing this so did that make him any less of who he was? Because it was obvious by the tightening of his pants, by the erection that Yugi could see, that he wanted this and he wanted it just as much as Yugi did—if not more.

But then maybe comparing the seme to the uke was not justifiable? He was smaller and he wanted Yami inside of him, which was definitely something that no guy was ever supposed to admit to as far as he knew. Plus, Yami was on top of him and he was doing what all guys did—fucking. He was the one who moved in and out and thrust. Yugi was the recipient and he laid on his back with his legs open like some kind of girl on prom night. So maybe it wasn't justifiable to compare their two roles like this?

And what did that say about him anyways? That he wanted Yami fucking him rather than him wanting to fuck some girl or Yami himself? Did that make him weaker than Yami? Or maybe that made him stronger because he was the one overcoming the uncomfortable sensation of a penis being inside of him while Yami was just moving around?

His head hurt with the thoughts and he was very glad for the distraction when Yami started kissing him again, obviously having caught his breath without Yugi's notice. The hand under his shirt, resting over his heart, pulled away slightly so that only his fingertips were on his flesh, and then his fingers were pinching at his nipple and Yugi moaned at the unfamiliar sensation, releasing his jacket to grab at his shoulder, digging his nails into the fabric and pressing into Yami's flesh. His lips yielded when Yugi pushed into them again, somewhat mesmerized by the softness they possessed. He wondered if kissing Tea would have been like this or different. Her lips were bigger than Yami's but they were also almost always painted with lip gloss that was flavored like strawberry or maybe piña colada or sometimes raspberry.

Guilt tore at his stomach. This was Yami. Yami was Tea's crush. For two years he had heard her mention him, sometimes in passing and sometimes just throwing him out there so that she could talk to him about him. He remembered one of her fantasies where he had chained her to the bed or vice versa and they were going at it relentlessly and he'd nearly thrown up in the middle of that story.

The red-eyed male recoiled and stared at him in shock, eyes wide and lips swollen from their kissing, eyebrows high up and face looking slightly flushed. Yugi stared back for a moment, confused, and then blushed furiously. He had just gagged into Yami's mouth. What the fuck?

"Ignore that."

"Are you sick?"

"No, just…thinking about something really disgusting."

"…While we're making out?"

"It was an accident."

Yami didn't respond immediately, wrinkling his nose and staring at him curiously for a long moment, and then Yugi rolled his eyes and pressed their lips back together, pinching his hip and making him gasp when Yami's mouth didn't open immediately for him. Impatience was something that came in abundance with Yugi when it pertained to things he wanted. He had endless patience when it came to other people but he had a stunning amount of impatience when it came to things and sex was something that he really wanted at this moment.

He started pulling at Yami's jacket, stripping him of it in a matter of seconds and then pulling back to take the white shirt off, tossing it onto the couch next to him. Yami didn't object and he didn't understand why, but he let it keep going. The taller chewed his cheek and stared at him. "On your couch?"

"Does it matter where?"

"I thought sex was only for the bedroom…"

Yugi barely heard him and he was about to burst out laughing until he saw the nervous expression on Yami's face. As far as he knew, though, sex happened pretty much anywhere, but he really liked to think that the bedroom was where sex  _should_  happen. In all actuality, to laugh at him would be hypocritical and more than messed up. So instead of laughing he smiled a little and nodded slightly. "Uh, yeah, but…either works."

Yami stared at him for a moment and then seemed to be drawn back into the situation again, pressing their lips together again.  _Bedroom versus living room_. Yami killed off the thought as he stripped Yugi of his own jacket and shirt. For a few long minutes they just kept their lips together, shirtless and growing breathless by the second, their tongues still working in their mouths, losing themselves to the lust again.

Still, neither of them understood the emotion. Especially when they were both straight and yet they were tongue-tied, lip-locked and half-naked. They were both completely sober and yet they actually  _wanted_ to have sex.

The irony, the confusion, was not lost on them.

Yugi moved his hands from his shoulders to undo the buckle on Yami's belt, pulling it through the loops of his pants and then unbuttoning and unzipping them; Yami was frozen for a moment but then pulled away to let Yugi slide them down as far as he could without him getting up. When he got up and Yugi pulled his pants and underwear down at once, his breath caught slightly at his erection's exposure to the air but he barely got to focus on this before Yugi suddenly pushed him over as soon as he sat back down again, making his head hit the armrest with a small look of shock, eyes widening. Yugi kept him on his back, pinned against the armrest, undoing his own pants and pulling them off to drop them on the floor with Yami's.

Only then did Yugi pull them back into their former position. Yami was stretched out over him, Yugi beneath him, their lips still locked together. The only pause in their kiss during the entire transition had been when Yugi had pulled his tongue back after pushing Yami's own back into his mouth in order to fall back against the cushions again. It had been strange and had left Yami confused, but it had worked.

"Condoms?"

"Nope."

"What?"

"Seriously Yami?"

The red-eyed teen pulled away and stared at him, swallowing hard. "You don't have any condoms?"

"Fuck, you're a real bitch when you're sober, huh?"

"We…didn't use a condom the first time?"

"Nope."

"But you weren't even a virgin! Who the hell did you hook up with before?"

Yugi decided it wasn't worth admitting that he was a virgin before their little drunk hookup so instead he snorted, "It doesn't matter. I'm clean and so are you. Now come on."

"Lube?"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

"You mean we had sex  _dry_?" he cried, eyes wide. Wasn't that supposed to hurt beyond belief? Yami choked on his own breath. Not only could he have possibly raped Yugi, but he'd done it  _dry_. Ra, he should have fought harder for a change of partner if that was the case. Who knew how badly he had hurt him the first time.

"So what?"

It took Yugi a moment to realize that Yami had suddenly stopped moving altogether. His lips no longer pushed against his. His fingers no longer moved whatsoever and he was frozen. Yugi looked up in irritation, pure impatience pissing him off brutally with the fact that Yami was no longer moving. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he spat, startling him violently and making him look at him in shock; Yami's mouth opened and closed twice and then his jaw just clamped shut and he looked like a deer in headlights.

Yugi lost all semblance of patience and snarled, "Damn it, Yami" before wrapping his legs around his waist; Yami started to pull away but couldn't move fast enough to avoid Yugi impaling himself on him. Both of them froze, Yugi in pain as his entire backside erupted in it from his movements and Yami out of fear upon seeing his face twist in horrible pain.

And then he was glaring and Yugi opened his eyes to a pair of blazing red orbs. "If you hadn't frozen up I wouldn't have done that," he snapped at him only to have the glare intensify with frustration towards the smaller teen.

"You have no fucking idea—"

"Just move it, damn it."

It pissed him off royally and while Yami knew he should have just pushed Yugi away, gotten dressed again, and left, he couldn't find it in himself to do these things. It was not that Yugi turned him on with this furious impatience he displayed, it was not that he was not pissed off by this, and it was not that he didn't think that it was wrong to do this, but he eventually gave in to some strange deep-rooted longing in the back of his mind that made him start moving.

He was blind as to where the smaller teen's prostate was so he tried several different angles but didn't find it even then; Yugi was confused by the sloppy work and then realized after a moment that of course he wasn't hitting his prostate this time because he didn't know where the hell it was. That frustrated him but it was his own fault so he let it die without verbal acknowledgment.

His ass burned as Yami continued moving but it was starting to dull with the careful actions. After a full three minutes of trying to find his prostate, trying different angles, pushing himself as deep as he could go inside of the smaller teen, he gave up. Instead he just started moving.

His movements weren't slow and Yugi found the burning, even dull as it was, was rather interesting with the small waves of pleasure that it gave him due to Yami's thrusts. He actually had a rhythm this time, which, for whatever reason, excited the smaller teen to no end. He matched him thrust for thrust while Yami occasionally just slightly changed his direction in order to get at his prostate, missing every time but never once losing his speed.

Yugi didn't expect him to be the best lay ever but he was a little disappointed with the fact that his prostate was being horribly, impossibly missed. When Yami slammed into it very suddenly, frustrated at himself with his own inability to please him, Yugi let out a yowl of a moan, his back arching and their torsos pressing against each other. His hands grasped at Yami's shoulders, his nails sinking into his flesh and Yami didn't look too pleased with the pain there but he still didn't falter with his movements and Yugi mewled when Yami started thrusting into his prostate.

He didn't ram into it as he had the first time, because he knew where it was now so there was no need to do so, but Yugi had to admit he was glad for this because this speed was more manageable than if he went with the harsh thrust that he had portrayed only minutes before.

Yugi continued moaning and mewling for another thirty minutes while Yami continued, his legs wrapping around his waist and pushing his heels to dig Yami into him even deeper than before. Yugi couldn't complain about the speed in which they moved together, because now that the burning was gone from his impalement, Yami's movements were soothing and pleasurable and his stomach coiled with the sensation. His body tensed when Yami finally started to cease his movements, breaking sync with him at the same time that he failed to be able to push Yami further.

He came before Yami did, digging his nails into Yami who snarled at him from the pain when his nails broke skin; his muscles tightening around him made Yami's own orgasm happen. It was warm and made Yugi's senses tingle with the sensation. It was much better than it had been when Yami was drunk because Yami lasted longer and this time he didn't collapse on him.

He had to admit Yami was pretty heavy, so when he kept his weight off him easily, pulling out of him and laying against the backrest with a tired expression, Yugi was relieved to be able to catch his breath without Yami's added weight. He snuggled into his side, however, pressing into him and feeling much better that Yami didn't try to pull away; for whatever reason, he felt good to know that Yami did not object to his wanting to be closer to him. Then again, he thought with a small grin, Yami was the one who had snuggled with him the first time, not Yugi.

It took Yami exactly three minutes to realize that Yugi had fixed their little fragile bond or whatever it was that they had the exact same way he himself had broken it. He had actually managed to clear the air in the exact way that it had become tainted in the first place. It was amazing…but sickening at the same time.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Yugi got hungry, cold from the lack of covering, and he strained his eyes to look at the clock before glancing at Yami. Yami's face was buried in his neck and for whatever reason, one arm was loosely draped over his stomach, while the other was stretched out over the armrest that supported their heads. Yugi would have snuggled back into him, because the body heat that Yami was giving off was great, but then his stomach growled again and he got up instead.

Yami moved weakly behind him, pulling away his arm and snuggling into himself without opening his eyes; Yugi smiled a little, shaking his head, and walked into the kitchen. He was just lucky that his grandpa was going to be out for another three weeks for that expedition.

One peanut butter and jelly sandwich later found him sitting at the table, staring at an empty plate and wide awake due to exposure to the light from the kitchen. He thought about video games and which to play in order to help him fall back asleep, but the possibility of waking up Yami made him hesitate. Until, finally, he got up and headed back over to the couch.

"Yami."

The red eyes opened into slits that he could barely see through, his eyelashes dark and cutting into his vision slightly; when he didn't speak, Yugi got onto the couch in front of him and tipped his head up, pressing their lips together, and waited. Yami's eyes opened fully a minute later when Yugi finally got fed up and pinched his hip, startling his mouth open and allowing him to slip his tongue inside and lace it with his.

Yami stirred more fully now, growing more awake, horribly confused and somehow turned on. Yugi wanted to laugh at his expression but instead pulled away and tapped Yami's thigh. "Roll over onto your back."

For a full minute Yami didn't move, didn't respond, just stared and then, very slowly, as if terrified and trying to make his body move despite the panic, moved onto his back and watched him like a hawk. It became evident Yami had the wrong idea a few seconds later when Yugi stepped closer and Yami's entire body tensed to the point that Yugi thought he was a statue.

Yugi had no plan to top Yami; in fact, all he wanted was to ride a little until he fell asleep again. And besides, sex was definitely a lot more fun than video games at the moment. Yugi didn't bother opening his mouth to explain. Most likely he would have ended up snapping at him to stay still after Yami fidgeted, eyes wide and blinking several times a second.

He had a brief moment of thinking that they should get off the couch, but shrugged the thought off; he could clean the couch if he needed to, in case things got messy, but he really hoped they wouldn't. Then again, maybe this was the problem with two guys fucking—with the uke riding, it probably meant a lot more of a mess than anyone wanted to deal with.

Yugi shrugged this thought off as well, instead looking at Yami's flaccid penis and thinking for a moment. Did it make him less of who he was if he pumped him until he was erect? He sure as hell wasn't going to give a blowjob. First of all, he had no idea how to do it and this late at night, grumpy because he couldn't sleep yet, he'd probably end up biting it off in his haste.

And he could not see Yami enjoying that one bit. Plus, he kind of thought that Yami might bleed to death if that happened. He wasn't sure because he never really experienced someone having their penis bitten off or cut off or whatever so he had no idea whatsoever. Maybe Yami would bleed to death and what would Yugi do with the body? And what about his sex? And the attention…that strange connection…

It was so wrong that he was using him like this, and yet he couldn't find it in him to stop. He liked this deeper attention, craved it like his life depended on it, wanted Yami to pay that attention to him in the way only he seemed to know how.

He might have been able to fumble through a blowjob while Yami was drunk, but fully coherent and he would realize Yugi had no experience—not that he should since he was straight—and then he might be able to figure out that Yugi had never even masturbated before. His crush on Tea, as strong as it was, as much as he had wanted her, had never been masturbation material.  _Tea_ was not masturbation material as far as he was concerned. He could try picturing his little fantasies in his head, but most of the time they didn't work and sex dreams about her…never happened.

How awkward…

He wrapped a hand around the penis, pumping gently and wondering at how much pressure he was supposed to put on the flesh. Yami stared at him in confusion and then looked at Yugi's hand wrapped around him and a suddenly growing-familiar sensation of panic ripped through him, but it died away almost immediately as well.

He had already fucked up. The first time it had been something of a mistake, a drunken mistake. The second time it was curiosity. And the third time…well, this was him admitting that he liked it when Yugi touched and kissed him, though he was unsure of what Yugi was doing right now.

If Yugi wasn't going to take him, then why was he on his back?

Yami had never touched a porn magazine. It was just something in his head that warned him against it. Well, that and his parents. Because his mother would have a heart attack and his father…well, that would be shameful as far as his father was concerned. Sex was supposed to be an experience when you reached the age of maturity and you were comfortable with it; that was what his father had drilled into his head. You caressed her, seduced her, made her happier than you made yourself,  _kept_  her happy…

Yami's stomach did a small somersault. Yugi was not a girl.

But how unnatural could it be if he liked it? If it felt good? If he wanted it?

Yugi continued pumping until his penis was erect again and then smiled, more than a little pleased with his handiwork. He pulled his hand away and Yami's penis remained erect, throbbing, large in its size, making anticipation course through him.

"What…are we doing exactly?"

His voice was thick and groggy and slightly hoarse and Yugi nearly choked on his own spit when he felt his own penis throb with arousal at the sound of it; holy crap, Yami half-asleep had a voice like a god…

He cleared his own throat, wrinkling his nose slightly. "What do you mean?"

Yami's eyes narrowed, squinting at him in the dull lighting the kitchen offered them. His tongue, dry and cottony as it always was when he woke up after doing something that required physical activity, flicked out to wet his lips, still confused. Why was it that Yugi had touched him like that if he planned to top?

"I mean…" He struggled for words and Yugi tilted his head curiously at him, confused and thoughtful.

"I'm not topping if that's what you're worried about."

"You're not?"

It was the sleep voice, the way he was struggling to form his words, the way it lilted and deepened at random moments, that kept Yugi from losing his patience. He wasn't sure why this seemed to work for him, but it did.

"No."

"Then what are we doing?"

Yugi would have laughed at his naivety, but then he saw how hopelessly confused he was and instead pushed the impulse away; maybe the kid was horribly sheltered. Maybe that was why he wore the clothes that he did and asked questions like this. Maybe that was why he panicked so often when it came to this.

"You must live a sheltered life," Yugi muttered under his breath, though Yami heard him and looked away, feeling his stomach twist with worry.

In all honesty, he did live a rather sheltered life. He had followed his parents' rules without objection outside of wearing the clothes he wanted as some weird sort of protest. He did what he needed to get by and nothing more. He went to school to keep suspicion off. He went straight home after except for the project he and Yugi were doing. He never did anything fun. He didn't hang out with his friends. He didn't even hang out with his cousins. He got good grades. He did what was needed and nothing that could expose him.

And now Yugi was calling him out on this and he couldn't help but feel a little hurt with the fact. It wasn't Yugi's statement itself because it was true, but the fact that he was calling him out on it made him feel slightly sick with worry. And to have his naïve nature pointed out, have it practically showcased in this moment, that hurt even more.

Yugi was too busy looking at Yami's penis, too busy aligning himself, to notice that Yami was no longer paying attention, holding Yami's hips to brace himself, starting to lower himself; when his skin touched Yami, Yami jolted slightly and the head went inside of him.

He was just lucky Yami was not too horribly jumpy or he would have been impaled even worse than he had that afternoon. While it burned the slightest bit from the unexpected motion, it faded away almost immediately because Yami was not moving and he was instead staring at him with a horrified expression, eyes widened to a point that Yugi had never seen, his hands going into his hair in shock. But Yugi had to admit that this action also proved to be helpful as well, because now that the tip was in, Yugi didn't have to worry about the small bit of fear that had welled up in his stomach at the thought of doing this all by himself, and now Yugi knew for a fact that they had properly aligned as he had been slightly unsure himself.

Yami's little jerk had done the job well enough. He ignored the horrified look that he got from the red-eyed teen upon looking up and instead went about lowering himself slowly; Yami furrowed his brows for a moment and then suddenly, before Yugi could even lower himself another inch, Yami grabbed his hips and helped to steady him, moving him slightly so that the action became more comfortable for him.

When he felt the taller teen was fully sheathed, Yami released him and Yugi gripped at his arms, using them to steady himself for a moment just as Yami moved his hands to grab at his left hip and steady him with his left hand holding just below his ribcage, balancing him rather effectively. Yugi cursed every porn magazine out there that he had touched—damn Joey for constantly leaving them around his room for him to find, claiming that he "needed to be more of a man"—and porn magazines were a major part of that, according to the blond—or Tea would never want him.

Yugi wanted to wring his neck because, oddly enough, this balancing on Yami's penis like this, was not very easy. Granted, he was a little too wired with excitement to really think straight, seeing as this position made him feel strange and good and the prospect of riding Yami—for whatever reason, maybe because he really just needed to get rid of his energy and the best way for him to do this, as it always had been, was to excite himself with something he had never done and wait for it to burn him out—pleased him to no end. Yami kept his hands on him and Yugi kept his grip on his arms for a long minute before pulling his right away and gripping Yami's left hip firmly.

Yami didn't release him, however, and Yugi found that he liked this. Yami showed him concern that he had never witnessed before and he wanted to swim in it; he really almost wished he could drown in it. His concern, his attention, pulled at his heart and left him overwhelmed with happiness. It was the strangest thing because he really should have wanted it from someone else—a female, possibly Tea if she hadn't been so infatuated with the boy beneath him—and he really didn't want it from anyone else.

When he moved Yami's grip tightened the smallest bit but he kept him balanced and the grip was anything but painful, just firm enough for him to know that he was there and would help him if needed. Yugi couldn't help it. Again his mind leaped to the differences between Yami and his friends.

They treated him like a little kid half the time. And if they offered to help him out with things, it was because they didn't think he could do it himself. Yugi had gotten in a fight with a kid in ninth grade and Joey had immediately offered to back him up; the smaller teen was anything but stupid and he knew by the way Joey said it—smugly, condescendingly, waiting for him to mess up—that he had no faith in him whatsoever, but all it had served to do was make Yugi desperate to prove himself and he had.

Yami, on the other hand, was concerned for him, offering a hand that Yugi could reject at any moment if he wanted. Joey would insist until Yugi wanted to tear his head off and gave up but Yami didn't push at his patience, didn't try to make Yugi lean on him. He waited, he watched, he asked if Yugi needed help,  _wanted_  help; Yugi knew without a doubt if he were to swat his hands away, they would stay away unless he told him otherwise.

Yugi had never really noticed just how much he resented his friends' treatment towards him because most people assumed the same of him because of his small stature, and now that Yami was in the picture, it was becoming that much more apparent that his friends walked all over him and thought themselves to be better than him.

"You okay?"

His voice had lost its gruff outer layer. Instead it had fallen to its perfect baritone pitch again, deep but not too deep, warm with emotion if he wished to show it.

"Mmhmm."

"Want me to pull my hands away?"

Yugi considered it for a moment and then shook his head. He honestly wished he had met Yami before and that they had gotten to know each other because he was pretty sure they would have been best friends if he hadn't gotten mixed up with Joey, Tristan, Ushio and Tea. If he had gotten to know Yami before, would he still be the boy who sought out attention everywhere he went, no matter if it was by horrible means or attention he didn't need? He knew exactly what people thought of him due to the choker he wore and the fact that people noticed him because of it was truly the only reason he cared to wear it half the time. At least as a sex slave, he was still in peoples' heads. He was still part of their thoughts, and it wasn't good attention, but it was still attention.

Yami kept his hands on him, holding him steady as he started to speed up slightly, and felt Yami thrust his hips up into him, making him moan. At least Yami wasn't lazy in bed, even if he was extremely naïve.

How could he have not known what Yugi was trying to do? And when he had helped him to sheathe him inside of him, the look of relief, curiosity and overall wonder had left him nearly speechless. What else did Yami not know as far as sex went? Had he never opened a porn magazine, never watched a porno?

Yugi had expected him to be more experienced than this. Not sexually as far as them in bed, but as far as knowledge about it went…

"Do you know what it means to deep-throat someone?" Yugi asked, his curiosity getting the better of him as he picked up pace and Yami thrust into him again, a little harder, hitting his prostate and making stars appear behind his eyes.

"Deep-throat?" Yami repeated, confused and wide-eyed, head tilting slightly to the side and his tongue slowly wetting his dry lips; his stomach twisted. Why was Yugi calling him out on his naivety again?

"It's…" Yugi thought about how to explain it for a long moment and then pursed his lips slightly, shaking his head. "Never mind."

He didn't miss the small flicker of hurt that passed through the red orbs almost subconsciously, hidden beneath the shadow of his lashes, barely visible just under the top outer ring of his irises. He didn't comment but he sure as hell didn't miss it either.

He felt bad, really bad, so despite the fact that he was a little worried about the red-eyed teen, he offered, "It's where someone will open their throat all the way and swallow something. It's…err…normally like with blowjobs and all that?"

The taller teen beneath him narrowed his eyes slightly and then thrust into his prostate again, murmuring, "Yeah?"

"Yep."

Yami didn't answer him, instead opting for biting his lip. He definitely understood that joke in class now. Some girl had been eating a lollipop and the class asshole had turned around out of nowhere and said, "Having fun deep-throating that lollipop?" while everyone else laughed and Yami had stared expressionlessly to make sure his confusion did not show.

Yugi decided not to call him out on his silence, instead moaning as his penis hit his prostate again and his speed increased slightly; he wasn't surprised in the least when Yami matched his newer pace, still hitting his prostate. It was strange, because Yami started to get him three times as fast as he moved, hitting once when he lowered to press his ass against Yami's pelvis, again when he rose halfway and a third time when he reached the tip of Yami's penis and started to lower again. He liked this a lot. This was definitely better than any video game could have been.

Yami moaned with him a couple of times, closing his eyes and digging his top teeth into his bottom lip, keeping his grip on Yugi and reveling in the sound of his deeply pleasured cries. Yugi found that this was actually pretty nice. He preferred his eyes open to see them, see the flashes of pleasure and the way his eyes were dark with lust, but this was pretty awesome, too. He looked relaxed, happy, pleased to no end, occasionally licking his lips and letting out a small purr.

He liked that purr. That purr was a sound of pure pleasure and it made him want to purr in response. It was deep with a baritone pitch, warm with lust, and doubled with the pleasure that surged from his chest. His stomach coiled with tension at the noise, bunching together with his quickly approaching orgasm.

When his muscles tightened around him, Yami let out a small growl and Yugi shuddered with desire and his release came almost immediately, spurring on Yami's own. Yami stared in confusion when Yugi didn't pull off of him and instead just lay down and fell asleep almost immediately. He couldn't understand what he was supposed to do with this, but he didn't wake him up to move and so instead just closed his eyes and settled into sleeping with Yugi's own face burying itself in the crook of his neck.

When Yugi woke up next, Yami was still inside him, fast asleep beneath him, and Yugi knew Yami was flaccid, allowing him to pull away and get up with a small limp to his step. He stretched himself out and glanced at the clock on top of the TV, yawning and feeling thankful it was a Friday—or rather, Saturday morning. Yami remained asleep in front of him and Yugi smirked as he looked him over. Yami was definitely a looker and asleep like this, he could be described as beautiful by all means, though Yugi would never say that out loud.

He watched as Yami's chest rose and fell with his breathing, which was silent and made Yugi smirk wider; at least he didn't snore like his grandfather did. If Yami was a snorer, he thought he might have put a pillow over his face and smothered him. Stretching out again, he had a vague moment of confusion of how he had woken up on top of the red-eyed teen, but then remembered that he had woken Yami up in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep and wanted him to tire him out.

Yami had stamina; Yugi had to admit that much. The first time he had lasted only thirty minutes in his drunken state but now that he was sober he had lasted twice as long and when he was half-asleep, he lasted just as long but he had fallen asleep almost immediately after Yugi.

He liked the idea of the small bit of growling that Yami had made. And the purring. The purring was nice too. Mostly he liked the growling though. It was different. And barely there, just coming out beneath his moans, an undercurrent of noise that bit at the end of his other.

He started on breakfast, making cereal and still feeling hungry began to make something else, and after thirty minutes, Yami woke up to the sound of plates being moved around; the scent of eggs and grits hit his nose and he got up after a moment, pulling his clothes on when he was sure Yugi was too busy to notice him doing anything, vaguely surprised that Yugi liked western style food. And then, clothes on, he fled.

* * *

Yami wasn't sure why he was doing this when he really shouldn't have. He had to be the biggest asshole in existence. Mana sat at his side, looking on his phone screen as they scrolled through the website, her eyes lighting up while Mahado snorted in amusement and went over to see what in all they were looking at.

The fresh air was definitely doing his pounding head good because at least now he could think a little straighter. There weren't too many people outside right now which was good for him because he was pretty sure he couldn't handle it if there were.

Especially if Yugi and the others were part of them. He was with the twins outside in the sunlight, his unnaturally cold body warming with it; he was still in some kind of state of confusion, scornful and nagging that sent his skin crawling in waves. He'd forced himself to sit in that godforsaken cafeteria for over twenty minutes before it became too much and he had coerced Mana into coming with him to do some online shopping since they wouldn't have time to do so for a little while yet.

She had immediately jumped to her feet eagerly but Mahado had hesitated and Yami knew that he had seen that Yugi would occasionally glance over at them as the red-eyed teen was not oblivious to the feel of his stare against his skin. He wasn't sure why the smaller boy kept glancing at him for small inconsistent amounts of time, but it left him dazed and confused and he felt sick.

His stomach had calmed considerably now that he was no longer in that stuffy place with Yugi despite being on the other side of the room and having his back to him. His skin didn't feel nearly as revolting now.

He scrolled a little more and she tapped on a pair of heels that she wanted while Yami pulled his debit card out of his back pocket and starting typing in the number with his free hand.

They had started this up in ninth grade, when Yami had preordered a video game with his phone, using his debit card and Mana had gotten so excited it was amazing. Once a month he would get her anything she wanted no matter the price just because it also helped to make his parents believe that he was courting women and buying them expensive gifts as a means of drawing them to him.

It made him look better than he actually was.

He pushed the thought away and instead finished the request before handing the phone back. "Go ahead and keep looking."  _I have to make up for the last two months I've missed_ … _They might get suspicious otherwise_.  _I can't handle them being suspicious_.  _I'll die if they're suspicious_ …

She blinked but when he thought she was going to question him she instead shrugged and went back to scanning through the pictures, humming and giggling every once in a while but she hadn't chosen anything so Yami didn't take the phone to use his debit card again.

"How much are you going to let her buy? She'll get half the website if you're not careful," Mahado teased but at the same time there was a very serious light to his eyes that made Yami smile in response, shaking his head and glancing over her shoulder at a shirt that she was currently looking at.

"Six items," he reminded her, drumming his fingers on his thighs. His father had not yet asked but he monitored his bank account frequently which was exactly why Yami had started letting Mana get things with his card. The good thing for her was that she got what she normally wouldn't because her family had to constantly worry about their income.

Mahado got electronics every once in a while if he only asked and Yami used the excuse that something had broken and he needed it for school, although his earphones had been a little harder to wave off as needed for school than the laptop or the speakers—he said they were to help with his project presentation—or the thumb-drives.

But he didn't need the money they sent and he didn't even leave the house half the time unless he needed to get food and most of the time he ordered in because otherwise he risked exposure and he couldn't do that. If Yugi's grandfather recognized him, then someone else could too and he couldn't have that happen. With that stupid artifact at the damn museum he was bound to be recognized if he was not careful. Just the thought made him sick to his stomach.

Besides that they would think that the current six items were just because he was trying to woo a girl over after having forgotten the last two months. That was simple enough. He didn't want to have to worry about it later.

Nipping it in the bud now was the best way to ensure that.

Thank Ra his parents were so simple minded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday.  
> If I miss a day and I don't update immediately afterwards, then it probably means that my laptop died so yeah...I don't honestly think it will, but it IS two years old now and it's an HP and HP laptops aren't always the best, but I just wanted to warn you guys just in case.


	5. Real Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon)  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "That was fucking awesome, Yami!" and skip to "So I was thinking that we would do the pharaohs in Egypt". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to get to the second part where the lemon is finished.  
> Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...

Chapter V: Real Life

Yami was apprehensive upon heading back to Yugi's house. Yugi definitely could not blame him for being this way. Apparently every time they went to his house, they ended up fucking. Yugi wasn't sure he wanted this to happen again, but at the same time, he kind of did. He liked it.

He wanted the attention. He craved it in a way that he had never wanted anything else. It was sickening because it seemed to eat away at his subconscious, seemed to dominate his thoughts in every way possible. Yugi hated this but he loved it at the same time.

Maybe it was a vicious cycle he just didn't know how to end. The thought was oddly exhilarating.

Yami noticed it immediately when Yugi did not call out to his grandpa again. "Where's your grandfather?" he asked, alarmed and feeling his stomach twist with anxiety. He was confused and he didn't need to add another day of sex with Yugi to this. His thoughts were always too jumbled lately. His heart would twist in ways it shouldn't and his stomach bunched up more than once with the stress his head brought him.

Yugi lazily flipped the sign over so that it said Open and then went to the counter, gesturing him over with a leisurely flick of his wrist. The blue-violet eyes grew sharp as Yami looked over his shoulder for a moment and then walked over to him, looking horribly guilty and tense.

"He's in Egypt."

He failed to miss it when Yami's face drained of all color, completely white. So Egypt made Yami nervous or something? What the hell was wrong with Egypt? His eyes narrowed as he looked at him but he didn't question it and Yami didn't supply answers, turning away and completely acting as if he had not just seemed to have seen a ghost.

"He's doing an expedition. He does them all the time."

Yami nodded a little. "How often?"

It didn't scream enthusiasm, but Yugi hadn't expected it to.

"Every couple of months. He's old and his heart is kind of weak, but he doesn't want to stop and it's not like I can stop him anyways."

"You're his only grandson, right?"

"Grand _child_. I'm his only grand _child_ ," Yugi corrected.

Yami turned his head and looked at him in surprise. "No cousins?"

"Nope. Just me."

"Oh."

"My mom was an only child and Dad's family isn't exactly…nice, so we don't interact very often."

"Oh."

Yugi was oddly glad that Yami did not apologize for him like Tea had done. Or go "Yikes so Gramps is all yours, huh?" like Joey or just nod like Tristan had done. And he was definitely relieved when Yami did not try to steal from the cash register like Ushio did.

Instead, Yami did something that startled him.

"I'm an only child too."

"Yeah, but you have cousins. And I don't exactly see you taking care of an elderly grandparent."

"No, you don't," Yami agreed. "Because they're dead."

"Oh."

The red-eyed teen shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It happened a long time ago."

"Did you ever meet them?"

"No but my father had told me so many stories I might as well have."

Yugi felt a small bit of discomfort. They were borderline talking about their families and that was one of the topics that they had agreed upon not talking about—one that Yugi himself had personally brought up. He bit his lip and turned away just as Yami seemed to realize what made him so suddenly quiet.

"Anyways, so, um…" Yugi started, trying not to let awkwardness make itself known and failing miserably.

"About the project," Yami announced, turning to him. "Are we doing another slideshow presentation or what?"

Yugi felt gratitude flood his system because Yami wasn't pushing like Joey or Tristan would have and he wasn't sneering like Ushio despite the rather obvious discomfort he was exposing to the red-eyed teen. "Yeah, I kind of thought we would," he admitted, playing with his pencil, chewing his cheek as Yami looked at him thoughtfully. "I figured we would do what we did last time."

"Why? Neither of us was exactly happy about being paired together a second time and if we do a good job again…" Yami started, tilting his head slightly and letting his voice trail off.

"It's worth more than thirty percent of our grade. I am not about to let either of us fail just because of…" He struggled for the word for a moment. "Just because we fucked a little. So what? Fucking is healthy, you know. So by doing this we're just increasing our health."

Was that all this was to Yugi? Some kind of weird, sickly fun exercise activity? Yami almost smacked him. How could it not affect him in any other way? He personally had torn out a clump of hair on accident stressing over what others would think of him and Yugi was indifferent to it all?

"Besides, no one is ever going to know about it but us, right?"

Yami doubted that. Secrets always got out. This…thing they had going on was no different. It was like that cheerleader who had started sleeping around recently and her boyfriend found out despite the team having their lips shut about it.

What would happen if someone else found out? His stomach twisted. Japan was known for being okay with homosexuality as long as it was not flaunted but his parents… He shuddered to even  _think_ what would happen with them.

He didn't answer and that was why Yugi paused writing some notes to look at him with an eyebrow raised, waiting.

"What?" the red-eyed teen asked in confusion before blinking and then nodding slowly. "Right, you're right. No one is ever going to find out about us."

"Good. I didn't think you would be one of those people who would fuck and blab."

Yami's jaw clenched for a moment before he turned away. "Yeah, not so much."

Yugi turned away and played with his paper again, writing another note and then tapping his eraser against the glass of the counter they were sitting behind. "So, if we do the same thing that we did as last time, do you want to do the shorter presentation slideshow and the longer one for our actual grade?"

"It makes more sense like that."

Yugi didn't think that Yami actually  _meant_ to snap like he did. He looked stressed and a little insulted because of the "fuck and blab" comment. Yugi wasn't stupid so he knew the only reason he took offense was because of his pride, not because he cared about the statement in itself. Yugi liked that about Yami. He was not easily offended but certain things, low blows beneath the belt, made him pissy. And he didn't take  _every_  comment offensively, even where others would have.

Yami seemed to realize that he had snapped because after a moment he looked sheepish, scratching at the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"For what?"

Yami's eyes narrowed. Yugi wanted to dismiss it. That made two of them.

"Hungry?"

Yami blinked. "A little," he admitted. He hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch because he had gotten up late and lunch had looked beyond disgusting so he hadn't touched it whatsoever. Though why Yugi was bringing up food at a time like this was definitely beyond him.

"Want me to make you a sandwich? Because I'm going upstairs to do that in a minute anyways."

Yami's lips twitched slightly. "Please?"

"Turkey or peanut butter and jelly?"

"Peanut Butter and jelly, please."

"You know, you really don't have to do that whole polite thing with me," the smaller teen murmured, getting up; Yami gave him a startled look and Yugi instantly felt bad because if Yami was raised that way, calling him out on this was one of the rudest things he could possibly do. Immediately he changed the subject. "Do you know how to work the register?"

Yami blinked and looked down before shaking his head slightly. "But I'm a quick study so if you show me, I think it'll be fine."

Yugi smiled a little and went about pointing out the functions of the buttons and watched as Yami nodded every now and then, watched as he seemed to sort the information every which way.

"I think you'll be okay though. It's been a pretty slow day anyways," Yugi offered when he saw the way Yami started to look oddly uncomfortable; it was a misinterpretation on his part, because it was the fact that Yugi was so close and Yami could smell him that made him uncomfortable like this. "Grape, blueberry or strawberry?"

"Blueberry, plea—" He cut himself off and frowned.

"Blueberry, huh?" Yugi murmured, smirking. "Finally someone else who likes it."

"No one else likes it?"

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Joey can't even stand jelly. Tristan and Ushio like grape. And Tea likes strawberry," he supplied; Yami gave him a puzzled look and he was rather amused and grateful that he was willing to wait until Yugi was ready to tell him anything else rather than blurting out a question like his rather mindless friends. "We normally come here after school. And they normally don't leave until after like ten at night. So half the time they end up eating over here."

Yami's head tilted to the left the smallest bit. "But if blueberry is the flavor that you like, then why…?"

"I got tired of them fucking complaining all the time," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Joey ate it but bitched about it the entire time. Tristan didn't say anything but his face would screw up a little. Ushio bitched the entire time and almost wouldn't eat it. And Tea kept picking at it and saying it wasn't great and she liked strawberry better."

Yami snorted and shook his head. "Bakura and Malik can't even function if they aren't trying to chew each other's heads off."

Yugi laughed. "I've never seen you guys hang out together."

"That's because we don't. When the three of us are just together alone, things get really bad."

"You guys fight a lot?"

"Uh…no," he replied, snickering and shaking his head. "No, do you remember that Halloween freshman year?"

"When someone set off those awesome ass soda sprays in the hallway and soaked everyone while the girls ran away screaming?" Yugi asked, laughing hard. "Oh my god, that was epic."

Yami smirked and shook his head. "I told them to  _scare_ someone, not to freaking give everyone heart attacks," he muttered. "But then we got into this contest about who could scare who the worst and then somewhere along the lines we ended up working together and the massive Soda Attack on Halloween of 2010 happened."

Yugi howled with laughter. "That was you guys?"

Yami nodded. "Oh yeah. See what I mean? The three of us together is a recipe for disaster."

"But  _awesome_ disasters."

"That was us mild though." He paused and then leaned forward to lay his elbows against the counter and his chin in his hands. "We hadn't meant to terrorize everyone though. Just scare them a little."

"Yeah, but it was awesome like that."

 _Oh I bet. You probably got a free peek at Tea's breasts thanks to that stupid soda,_ Yami thought before narrowing his eyes. What the fuck? What should he care about that anyways? It wasn't like they were actually doing something other than having random hookups. If he was truly jealous, there was something wrong with him.

"And you got that one teacher in the face!" Yugi laughed, oblivious to his sudden change of posture; Yami turned his head, confused.

"What teacher?"

"The female one with the large mole on her face—the one who wears way too much makeup. With red hair and the tight suits she wears all the time."

"I know  _of_ her and what she looks like, but I have no idea what her name is," Yami admitted, frowning. "I don't have any classes with her."

Yugi nodded. "Neither do I. I mean, I did for like a month but then she got swapped into another class. I don't know why but whatever. Anyways, she looked like a raccoon and everyone was laughing at her."

Yami felt his lips twitch up in the corner and felt slightly bad to be laughing at another's misfortune but the picture he got of the woman was nothing if not comical. "I bet."

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute," the smaller teen announced, turning and running upstairs with Yami's eyes trailing him until he disappeared from sight; as soon as he was gone, his head snapped around to look at the red door in front of him.

What the hell was wrong with him? Why would he be jealous of something like that? Was he really that pathetic? He felt nothing towards either of them. Sure, he and Yugi had fucked, but he didn't feel anything out of the moments they were practically tearing each other's clothes off. So was it about him being able to see down Tea's shirt? But then Yami was anything but interested in that brainless ditz of a brunette. He frowned at himself for a moment, shaking his head slightly. Tea seemed nice and he couldn't understand why he was badmouthing her all of the sudden, but then again, her flirting with him in front of Yugi was disrespectful on so many levels that Yami hated it with a passion. As well as the fact that while she seemed nice and liked him and the fact that he had an admirer, she was not someone that Yami could  _ever_ see himself with—in any way. She had an air to her that he didn't like. And Yami was never one to dismiss his gut feeling—it had never been wrong before and he doubted it would now.

Maybe it was the fact that she respected Yugi so little. Because he knew for a fact that she was not oblivious to his flirting; he had seen the way she beamed when she had Yugi's attention and all it had to do with was the fact that Yugi was complimenting her, because she lived for them. And what was worse about her, she not  _only_  flirted with him in  _front_ of Yugi but also with someone who  _looked_ like Yugi himself. He honestly could not think of a lower blow one could deliver their admirer. Well, aside from rejection in front of everyone else or making fun of them for having the courage to ask them out.

He wondered if Yugi had ever asked her out. Probably not.

He didn't understand it, but he had a feeling that Yugi had not asked her out for whatever reason. But why would you not ask your crush out if you had liked them for so long?

His fingers twitched and tapped against the skin of his sharpened jaw, tilting his head to the side and biting his cheek.

Yugi and Tea were too much alike at points. They both wanted attention. Although, Tea was more disrespectful with her ambition for attention and Yugi, so far, only fought with him every now and then when they got touchy, but didn't disrespect anyone. Although, his means probably weren't the best as far as attention-grabbing went.

Did Yugi really dislike himself so much that he would let Yami have purchase of his body every time he wanted? That he would hand it over willingly just for some attention in the moment?

Yami narrowed his eyes. But then, how was he any better? He let Yugi have sex with him too; there were always two when it came to sex. He could stop Yugi at any time he wanted and yet he never once tried. He wanted it and he didn't understand why. He liked it and it confused him.

He was raised to respect people and namely women and this entire thing was knocking his feet out from under him where he already lacked balance. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do and again, his parents came to mind. His father would have his hide. He would never make it to seventeen if he ever found out.

Yami felt something die inside of him with this thought. It was oddly satisfying, however, and it left him even more confused. What the hell was going on with him? Was he crazy? Stupid? Did having sex with Yugi make him an idiot? What the hell was wrong with him? How could that little pain in his chest feel so satisfying and induce such pride in himself? Was it supposed to feel like this?

Yugi came down with two sandwiches and put one in front of him, happily munching on his own. "So did anyone come in?"

"No," Yami replied, taking the sandwich and tearing off a bit before putting it in his mouth. Yugi watched him with interest; something was definitely off about the teen next to him. He wasn't sure what and he had no idea how to even describe it, but it was anything but alarming so he didn't comment on it.

"So how much longer until we close shop?" Yami asked, continuing with his tearing bits off his food and eating them; Yugi couldn't understand why he would tear his sandwich instead of just biting into it but again he didn't comment.

"A couple more hours."

"Okay."

Yugi pushed his confusion towards Yami's actions away and instead focused on eating his own sandwich. But a million questions jumped out at him. Why did Yami look uncomfortable when he had chosen Egypt for their project? Why had he paled drastically when he told him about his grandfather's expeditions? What had just changed while he was upstairs? Why did he not even care about Tea anymore? Why did Yami not talk down at him like the rest of them? Why didn't Yami go shopping anymore? Why didn't he wear the clothes they bought outside of his little drunken stupor? Why did it never seem like Yami was an inconvenience like the others sometimes felt to him? Why was Yami so polite in the first place? Why didn't he even bat an eye when he saw that his clothes were almost two hundred dollars? Why did he want to be around him anyways? What made him likeable like this? Why did they keep doing this?

When Yugi looked up at him again, Yami was pointedly studying his information worksheet and starting to group some bullet points together for what Yugi guessed was for a certain paragraph or other.

Wasn't them being around each other again supposed to be just as awkward as it was the first time? Maybe they had run out of awkwardness since then. The thought made him smirk.

Yugi wandered off and put their plates up and when he got back, Yami was working through some homework while looking for facts in the book they had gotten from the school library during lunch only two days before.

The bell on the door went off, making both of them look up; Yugi paled while Yami sat up even straighter, tensing as the three strode into the shop.

 _Why_? _Why_? _Why_?Why?

Yugi was three seconds from asking that himself.

"Shit, man, I thought you were joking when you said you were going to be doing your project all day after school," the blond said, looking him up and down for a moment and shaking his head before his eyes flickered towards Yami. The two brunets didn't react to his presence at first and for a long time they just looked at Yugi and then finally their heads turned towards Yami and Yugi swallowed hard.

The tension was practically tangible and Yugi felt like someone should call him out on his twitching but then Yami seemed too nice to and the others weren't close enough to see his hands fidgeting through the glass.

"Why would I joke about that?" Yugi snapped, making all four of them look at him in surprise—his little group's was barely contained but Yami's eyes had only widened slightly and the emotion only showed near his pupils.

Joey was not happy with the small bit of anger in his voice and it became apparent with the glare he gave him after he had fought off his surprise. The brown eyes flashed in clear warning and beside him, almost imperceptibly, Yami tensed as if ready to lunge. "Maybe because most of the time you don't  _do_ schoolwork," he said in a voice with an undertone of threat.

"Actually, I get stuck doing all of yours and can't seem to get to my own."

Yami was used to spats but he didn't expect himself to be part of the one that was going on right now; he clamped his teeth into his cheek, uncomfortable beyond belief and really wanting this to end already.

"If you ever just  _bothered_ to freaking pick up a pencil, maybe I wouldn't have to do your homework and fuck up my own," the smallest teen spat angrily, bristling suddenly and making Yami awkwardly look down at his worksheet as the tension threatened to suffocate all five of them.

"Dude—"

"They have a project to do," Tristan cut in before Joey could say his piece, looking at Yami and then at Yugi. "Come on guys, let's just go."

Ushio looked unhappy with this suggestion, his thick eyebrows pulling together as his lip curled slightly and his eyes tried to bore a hole into the red-eyed teen in front of him; after a moment of ignoring him pointedly, the teen raised his head and gave him a completely bored look.

Yugi was a second from choking when he saw the look on his three friends' faces. The shock, the irritation, was hilarious as far as he was concerned. All three of them looked like deer caught in headlights and he wanted to laugh out loud at this, but he kept himself quiet. Any  _other_ time and he would have doubled over, laughing until his face was red and his eyes were blurry with tears.

But this situation was hardly the time to do that.

"Seriously, guys," Tristan snapped, for once raising his voice so that both of them looked at him in surprise. "Let's get out of here already. They have a project to do. Not to mention that we have our  _own_  projects to work on."

Yugi watched them as they swapped looks and then turned to him.

"See you later, Yug."

"Bye guys."

When all three of them were gone and Yugi was sure they were out of earshot, he fell out of his seat, laughing; Yami looked at him, startled and wide-eyed by his display. He ignored the small bit of pain he got in his back from his tumble, laughing harder when he saw Yami's face through his lashes. He watched as the taller teen's lips twitched up into a small grin and his mouth parted just enough to let out a low chuckle that was purely amused. His chuckle soon grew into full blown laughter and Yugi couldn't help but find it odd how easily Yami laughed with him. Crude comments, harsh remarks, the truth cloaked in a nasty voice, were normally the only thing that got the others to laugh. Well, except for Tea, because only jokes or humorous stories about Yami got her to laugh apparently.

He liked the gleam in those exotic eyes. Stretching from the bottom of his pupil down to the outer layer of his irises. Pure amusement, clouded by nothing more.

He felt happier than he had in a really long time in that single moment.

Yami continued laughing with him, the tone rich and unfaltering. Yugi loved it. He admitted to it. He loved that laughter. It was different and unique and it made his stomach tingle with happiness and amusement.

Yami had to admit that he had not laughed like this outside of brief moments alone with his cousins. No one outside of them had ever really made him laugh for more than a minute or two. And now he had been laughing for five minutes straight. He was so stressed out half the time, so tied up with other things, that moments like this existed in such rare amounts, and it felt incredible to unwind and laugh like this. In fact, in all honesty, Yami had nearly forgotten what his own laughter sounded like. And genuine smiles felt weird on his lips.

For a whole ten minutes the two of them kept laughing until they finally quieted down and Yugi got up and walked around to the door to flip the sign and lead the way upstairs after gathering his own materials off the counter. Yugi shook his head, grinning, and took a seat on the couch next to Yami.

"Oh my god, their fucking faces. I nearly laughed at them."

Yami's lips twitched up into a huge grin. "Oh, I know. I saw your face."

"You pissed them off so badly!"

"I know."

"That was fucking awesome, Yami!"

The statement earned him a chuckle that died almost instantly and then Yami was staring at him with a concerned expression.

"Hey, what made you snap at them? I don't—"

Yugi shoved his tongue down his throat at that moment, deciding that he didn't want to talk anymore and really wished to avoid this conversation and any other involving those three. They were hardly something he ever wanted to talk about.

However the hell Yami managed it, Yugi was just lucky that Yami stopped talking or he might have had his tongue bitten off. He wasn't exactly welcomed because Yami's hands gripped at his shoulders, grasping a little tightly and then releasing again before pulling away. He didn't push him away but Yugi knew he wasn't exactly the happiest with the intrusion either. It was too sudden. Yugi wasn't even sure  _he_ liked it and he was the one who had done it.

It wasn't comfortable. It had been rushed and stupid and it was pretty obvious in the way Yami's tongue wasn't moving even once that he had moved a little too fast for his liking. Yugi definitely couldn't blame him though. When he moved his own tongue, it felt awkward and strange due to the desperation he had felt in the moment.

He hated it. Both of them hated it.

But eventually, when Yugi pulled back a little, it worked to help with the situation. Yami pressed his tongue against his hesitantly, as if inviting him back, and Yugi would have grinned if he could have. But it felt unnatural and wrong to do so when his tongue was in Yami's mouth so he decided not to try.

It was odd, but this time it was Yami who lost his patience with the slow pace they were going. For whatever reason, his hands were the one to reach out and start to shed his clothes away, pushing him back and his tongue sliding and warm against his. The icy minty taste of his mouth made Yugi's nerves hum with delight.

God, Yami was delicious. He thought he might swap out milk or white chocolate for dark with the way Yami tasted so nice.

Yami could not really put his finger on what Yugi tasted like. He recognized it but more like it was a memory, something that he hadn't tasted in a long time. Something that he knew he liked but had not been given the privilege to taste in a long time.

Then again, he was never allowed sweet things unless he was a good kid and when he  _tried_ to be a good kid, apparently he failed horribly. His dad always found something to call him out on, whether it was something as small as wearing a watch that didn't quite fit the rest of his outfit. Admonishments were more popular than praise.

Yugi reciprocated and pulled his jacket and shirt off. Yami dug his teeth into his cheek, watching him, eyes focusing on his kiss-swollen lips. Maybe this was some kind of rebellion towards his parents? Maybe that was what this was? Maybe all this lust that he felt, that breaking off of whatever piece of him that had died away downstairs, was just some kind of manifestation of him wanting to rebel against his parents?

It was definitely possible. He always hated the tight leash they had kept him on. He was rarely allowed out the house and until he had come to Japan, he had been home-schooled and was taught at three times the rate that the district taught. While he was in fourth grade, he was already learning the material of a senior in high school.

His parents had never truly allowed him to socialize and when he did, they really only ever allowed him around girls. Some of them were older and more than once his father had tried to hook him up at the age of twelve and for whatever reason, he shied away from it all.

Maybe the lack of being around males outside of family had made him think that this was the ultimate rebellion against his parents?

Guilt and shame flooded his system. He didn't want to think he was using Yugi in such a pathetic way. He really didn't but it was so possible. It was so possible with the way his own mind worked and the way that this seemed so pleasantly okay with him. Yugi wanted attention and Yami wanted to rebel. How sickening was this?

But then, real life was nothing if not sickening.

That was why people tried to drown themselves in alcohol. It was why they stuffed pills down their throats. It was the reason for trashy hookups.

Was that what they were? A trashy hookup?

His stomach hurt with the idea. He didn't want to use Yugi like that and he didn't want to think that was what his first time was. He'd been plastered off his ass but in all honesty, he wanted to pretend that the little black spots in his memory were just from some kind of sensory overload instead of him not being able to handle his liquor.

Then again, he'd never  _had_ hard liquor before…

Vodka and beer, a couple Bloody Mary's, maybe a few shots of Russian vodka at some point…?

His head swam for a moment and it was only then that he realized Yugi was no longer touching him, instead having pulled back, staring at him with his head tilted slightly to the side and his eyebrow raised the smallest bit in confusion.

"Sorry."

"Thinking about your cousin?"

Yami took a moment and then grimaced; oh yes, that was why he had gotten drunk off his ass like an idiot and then fucked Yugi like that. Was it wrong that he took this opportunity immediately?

"Yeah, I haven't heard any news about Mokuba."

That was at least true, though his little gray-eyed, black-haired cousin was far from his thoughts in that moment, despite the codependency of the entire situation. His drunk ass had only gotten that way because of his cousin getting hit with the car.

Yugi chewed his cheek and then sighed softly. "I'm sorry," he finally murmured, scratching the back of his head and frowning; Yami wasn't the same as Rebecca or Tea and he had no idea how he was supposed to make him feel better. Rebecca wanted constant touches and handholding and Tea always wanted to be complimented and then she would let him drag Yami into the conversation so that she would be sufficiently distracted; how many times over the years had he comforted her saying that Yami wouldn't want to see her crying while his own heart had protested that he should be enough for her? But this person in front of him actually  _was_ Yami and Yami was nothing like those two girls and he was not like anyone else he knew so he didn't know how he was supposed to approach a hard subject with this red-eyed teen. "But I'm sure he's okay though."

He narrowed his eyes and then shook his head; he didn't want to think about this anymore. He knew Mokuba would be fine. Seto would pull him through because that's what the two of them did. They did what the other couldn't fully do and in the end they always succeeded because they were that close.

Yami had never been that close to another person. He and his cousins were close but they all constantly fought and he and Seto rammed heads so often it was a wonder they could get anything done when around each other. And he and Bakura were constantly pulling death threats on the other. He and Malik had no common ground to stand on half the time. He could never be as close to any of them as close as Seto and his brother were.

They balanced each other out. They would do anything for each other. Loyalty meant life or death as far as they were concerned. It was terrifying to think that something like that could exist between two people, family or not.

But then it was also liberating and Yami yearned for that connection more often than not. What he lacked his partner would have and vice versa. He could mess up and not be judged on it and he could be a total asshole and they would call him out on it where others would fear to do so…

He shook the idea off and pressed his lips to Yugi's again, wanting to stop the thoughts in his head from forming any more; he shut his mind down—something he had learned when around his father and his constant disapproval—and worked his tongue into Yugi's mouth, gripping at his upper arms and pushing him back against the couch. Yugi had a brief moment where he wondered if he should have been offended by his sudden reaction but decided against it when Yami's tongue mapped out the roof of his mouth and left him breathless and slightly lightheaded.

He liked this a lot. More than he should. Way more than he should.

He pushed the thought away and let Yami pull his boxers and jeans down, following them with his own before his finger entered him. Yugi squirmed once and then twice because it was still extremely uncomfortable but then again, it was definitely better than that fucking burning sensation he had gotten their second time.

And of course this time Yami kept his finger still, pulling back to lick his lips; Yugi would have told him that he didn't need to but then the warm flesh was on his lips again, and a nice yummy muscle was in his mouth. Yugi was definitely going to invest in some dark chocolate mint patties because Yami's mouth, his taste, was exhilarating and he wanted it at his disposal whenever he needed it.

He moaned when Yami hit his prostate, the pad of his finger lightly running over it gently and making him arch into him and moan even louder, his body tightening like a bowstring with the torturous pleasure. Yami pulled back, chuckling, and then finally pulled his finger away to pump again, continuing his preparation. Yugi let out a breath, unable to catch it, and fell back into the cushions more fully, face flushed and eyes wide with delight.

Ooh, he loved his prostate more than he loved anything else right now. Well, aside from Yami's mouth, but he got that back only minutes later, their tongues dancing and swirling and warm against each other.

Yami still could not place the taste but he remembered it faintly. He knew he did but it was still elusive to his memory. And it was killing him to not know but he couldn't force it so he just let it die wherever it lay in the farthest recesses of his mind.

Years of scorn and disapproval hardly left room for better memories.

Hell, he couldn't remember the last—oh, no, he could. He was six and had just figured out the solution to a fourth grade math problem that had left him stumped for weeks due to the pressure his parents placed on him. And that praise had been so sardonic and nasty it had made him cry and that, of course, had gotten him his ass whipped with a leather belt. No room for tears if you're a Sennen.

Yami honestly could not remember the last time he had cried outside of news of Mokuba's comatose state and even then he'd listened to his father's words playing in his head—full of disgust and hatred and disappointment and leaving him feeling hollow inside. He had somehow managed to get the tears under control by means he didn't know and then for whatever reason, that stupid blonde bartender had bought his little story about being twenty-one…or maybe she had taken pity on him. He would not have been surprised if that was the case. He was a fucking mess when he showed up there.

Now that he tried to recall it, he couldn't even remember how the fuck he ended  _up_ at the damn bar. All he knew was that he snuck in there when some drunk girl—who he  _knew_ was not any older than him because he had seen her in school several times—started dancing on the tables and then giving lap dances to strangers while drinking like there was no tomorrow. So he snuck in and got his drinks, laughing at her sardonically when she asked if he had had a bad night; he'd fucking taken everything from a single shot of scotch to actually snatching a bottle of vodka and drinking it straight out.

He had a feeling the bartender had gotten him a cab and they had gotten him home that way—or rather to Yugi's house—because his mind was blank past ones showing up at his door and then kissing him but then it was bits and pieces between the flashes of gaping hole in his memory—him on top of Yugi, him kissing him once or twice—and then it was all blank again.

Weren't blackouts supposed to happen when you became an alcoholic?

Yami couldn't help it. His inability to remember everything drove him insane. He still had no idea if he had raped him and he was afraid bringing it up would scare Yugi away and he really didn't want that to happen. Then again, if Yugi was willing to have sex with him again—initiating three times already—did that mean he  _hadn't_  raped him?

But then Yami remembered that some rape victims would throw themselves at the knees of anyone who paid them attention because they felt so low about themselves. Or maybe he had threatened Yugi at some point in his little drunken parade and now he was initiating because he thought he had to…

His head swam with thoughts now. Yugi commonly did anything under the sun for attention. So did that mean that he could have possibly been raped sometime before ninth grade? Or maybe even younger than thirteen? He felt sick to his stomach with the idea. What if that was why Yugi dressed and practically  _acted_ like a sex slave?

His jaw unconsciously clamped down on his tongue and, in turn, Yugi's who made a squeaking noise and startled him out of his thoughts, pulling away with wide eyes and an expression of confusion painting his features.

"What the fuck?" Yugi cried, feeling his tongue swell slightly from the pain; fuck, Yami bit  _hard_. He looked at him to find that Yami was still confused, looking completely lost, head tilted slightly to the side, blinking once or twice. Yeah, Yami had not been with him when he bit down. "Never mind."

Yami had a brief moment where he wondered if Yugi had somehow turned into one of those empathetic figures he read about in books—always sharing the others' emotions—and then nearly smacked himself for being so stupid. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Something always seemed to be off between the two of them. Yami couldn't function for the life of him and Yugi was impatient when he wanted a fuck. He wondered if that would ever change between them. Would Yami ever get his head screwed on straight and would Yugi ever learn to have some kind of patience with other people? Ugh, his head hurt.

"Seriously, don't worry about it," he insisted upon seeing the guilty look on Yami's face. "Just start moving your fingers again already. It's weird if they aren't moving."

Yami's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed slightly, voice confused and curious. "I thought it would feel weirder  _when_ they were moving," he muttered, adding a third finger and chewing his cheek.

"No, they feel good," Yugi muttered, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh of contentment that made Yami stare with wide eyes, eyebrows shooting up.

It was strange, but that statement brought such relief it nearly blindsided him. That could possibly mean that Yugi was just using him like he was using Yugi. Yugi got his pleasure and Yami got his release. Yugi got his attention and Yami got his rebellion.

If that was what it was anyways. He wasn't sure. It could have been a million things for all he knew.

Yami hated himself for being so complicated.

Yugi snapped his fingers in front of his face, making his eyes widen and focus on him again. "Good. I don't need you losing focus and stopping again," he muttered when he was sure Yami was all there again.

The taller teen nodded almost imperceptibly, looking slightly lower than his eyes to stare at either his lashes or his cheekbones, and then shifted his position slightly before pulling his fingers away.

Yugi felt strange. It was like Yami had just crumpled in on himself. He had meant it as a joke and yet Yami had taken it seriously and Yugi didn't like it one bit. But he  _hated_ the fact that Yami had just suddenly become meek, wouldn't make eye contact. The pride that he was so used to seeing was completely gone now and he felt like Yami was waiting for something and it made his chest ache.

When a few minutes passed—Yugi trying to think of something to say and debating that talking might be the wrong idea while Yami remained perfectly still over him, his posture just as meek as it had been when he spoke—Yami finally pressed into him. Yugi tensed immediately, completely taken by surprise, and Yami's eyes rose to his, narrowed and shining with puzzlement, his head tilting to the side once more in question.

Yugi forced himself to relax against the sudden intrusion and Yami seated himself a minute or two later, still going extremely slow for him. The red eyes were on his mouth now and Yugi thought he was going to kiss him again, but then his head turned away and looked at the clock and back. Yugi would have been lying if he said it didn't frustrate him that he had pulled away, but he didn't argue and when Yami's eyes focused on his, Yugi rolled his hips for him.

Yami didn't move right away and Yugi stared at him for a minute before rolling his hips again; when Yami still didn't move, he lost his patience and started rocking against him, making the taller teen burst out laughing. Yugi went red in the face with embarrassment; Yami had set him up, tested his courage to see if he would do it. He couldn't help it when he started laughing with him. Yami's deep laughter spurred him into it.

It felt good to know he would at least tease him in a way that made him want to laugh too. It was definitely a change and he liked it. Yami didn't laugh at his expense and his jokes were ones that he could enjoy himself and laugh about later too.

Yeah, he definitely liked Yami more than he liked Ushio. He was always the butt of every joke the massive senior made and Yugi was so fed up with it but could do nothing as far as physical went. He outsmarted him all the time and Joey and Tristan and Tea always played mediator when they got into a spat because otherwise Ushio would have him for breakfast. Or so they thought anyways. He was actually almost two hundred percent sure that, given the right motivation, Yugi could kick his ass to the US and back if he had the energy.

Yugi had to admit he liked Yami sober like this. Although, then again, he didn't think Yami could do anything funnier than having that intense look of concentration, tongue out and eyes sometimes crossing when he focused too hard in his drunken state. Yugi had actually spent an hour laughing at that at one point, crying and breathing hard for ten minutes after he got his last laugh out. Thirty minutes of those red eyes becoming crossed, thirty minutes of his tongue practically lolling out of his mouth, had become a permanent picture in Yugi's mind.

He couldn't help it when he started snickering, making Yami's eyebrow rise in confusion; Yugi hadn't even realized that they had started a rhythm at some point while he was in his head. Yami's confusion was evident but he was smiling at him and Yugi was relieved he didn't think his laughter was offensive.

"What's so funny?" the taller teen asked, tilting his head.

Yugi shook his head and laughed a little harder. There was no way he was going to speak of this at that moment. How badly would Yami react to that anyways? Would he be mortified or would he laugh at it? And if either happened, would he make a run for it first chance he got?

He liked the arrangement they had going on at the moment and with the flightiness he had already witnessed from him, he couldn't be sure Yami would willingly come around again if he became too mortified and Yugi didn't want to give up on this. It was too much fun for him to let go of.

"Nothing. Nothing, don't worry about it."

"I wasn't  _worried_ about it. I was just curious." He paused and then narrowed his eyes. " _Should_ I be worried? Because I don't think that laughter during sex is a good sign…is it?"

Yugi laughed harder and it came out strange and distorted when it mixed with the moan from Yami pressing into his prostate again with his next thrust. Yugi liked the fact that Yami had perfect recall as far as his prostate went. He liked it—definitely liked it. "No, don't worry about it." He moved a hand to grip at his shoulders and then the other to his arm, still laughing. "I was just…thinking about the look on their faces."

Yugi was well aware that Yami's expression was purely disbelieving but neither of them commented and Yami instead went back to just thrusting again. Yugi liked that he let it fall away so quickly. He was  _way_ too used to being pushed into explaining. Half the time he couldn't even remember why he was friends with the other three. Although he did know why he was friends with Tea.

They'd been friends since they were four and their parents had always had play dates with them. Somewhere along the line, however, something had changed because they used to be close, much closer, and he had never resented her treating him like a child before. And now he practically hated her for it.

It had started before Yami but it had definitely escalated after they started hanging out. If you could call what they were doing hanging out.

Could you call fucking someone just hanging out?

His stomach started to coil with the now-familiar tightening of his muscles that announced his oncoming orgasm. That was cool, too. Yami didn't try to force him to come by jerking him off. Maybe it was just because he was new to sex…but then so was Yami and yet he still somehow managed to get him to come at relatively close to the same time as he did.

Yugi wondered if he should feel bad for this thing they had going on. He was using him for attention and Yami was using him as a distraction. And he didn't feel bad about it. At all. Not in any way. That seemed so wrong, but at the same time he couldn't find it in himself to truly care. Maybe Yami was the same way or maybe he didn't even realize they were using each other.

He had a feeling he did, but either he just didn't care like Yugi, or he just didn't mind it. Maybe he was really just some kind of pushover and didn't let it show in school. Yugi had no idea but either way, Yami wasn't putting a stop to it and so Yugi wouldn't either.

He didn't notice that his nails had sunk into Yami's skin and Yami's head had lowered to his neck, breathing a little harder due to the pain from the broken skin. Yugi really needed to apologize for that because this was already the second time he'd torn Yami's shoulders open with his nails.

And while Yami didn't complain, his body language was very expressive in the fact that he was not happy with this pain.

His muscles were tightening all over again and Yami started to move a little faster, striking his prostate a little harder. Yugi had a moment where he wondered what he felt like wrapped around Yami like this, because Yami was large—larger than him, and Yugi was not small—and besides that, he always heard about how some of the guys at school wanted to fuck a girl up the ass.

And then of course came the idea of whether or not he would loosen up like a girl's vagina did. He did not like the idea but he didn't feel any different than he had before they started doing this.

He'd felt sore initially upon awakening, but it had been more of an uncomfortable sensation than pain. Initially uncomfortable but later very nice. So Yugi couldn't complain.

Yugi let out a loud moan when he came, and Yami followed him almost a millisecond afterwards. Yugi found it oddly comforting to have Yami's body weight—predominantly kept off him—against his. It was mostly just enough pressure to make him feel the warmth that Yami's body gave him, and it almost made him purr with pleasure.

The blue-violet eyes took in the clock and nearly choked; they'd been fucking for two and a half hours now. That was a pretty big jump, as far as he knew—not that he was an expert on stamina when it came to sex or really stamina at all—to go from one hour to two and a half. It was already eleven.

Yami pulled away from him with a breath and Yugi watched as he rolled over to rest against the backrest and snuggle against him; Yugi wondered if he was supposed to be disgusted by the fact that his own semen coated both of their torsos because of his bottoming. And then there was the fact that Yami was pulling him closer and the liquid was still warm from his body heat. And yet…Yugi  _still_ could not find it in himself to care.

Although he had to admit he was curious about why neither of them pushed for a shower. His mind was stuck on that thought when he fell asleep; eight hours later Yugi blinked his eyes open and found that Yami was still passed out next to him. Apparently Yami was not much of a light sleeper.

He looked him over for a moment and then smirked. Then he had the idea that maybe Yami was awake but not moving around because he was being nice enough to let Yugi sleep in as long as he wanted to. He snorted at the thought because in all honesty, he could definitely see that happening. It seemed like something the taller teen would do. He looked him over, stared for a long moment, and then smiled a little. Yami was half-awake. Yugi recognized it because Yami's eyelids fluttered but didn't open and his breathing had changed for a split second to rapid rises and falls of his chest before evening out again.

Yugi was used to watching his grandfather for moments like this when he had had his smaller series of strokes when he was still a freshman. He would alert the nurses and they would check up on him.

He squirmed out of Yami's grip and the red-eyed teen's eyes opened into slits, confused, and then closed again. Yugi waited a moment and Yami didn't move, which made him snicker when he realized that the teen still on the couch had fallen back asleep.

And then he frowned. Maybe Yami wasn't sleeping right.

Yugi wandered into the kitchen and got himself a bowl of cereal; halfway through his breakfast, he watched Yami's head poke up from the couch, slow, tired. He watched him move around and grab his clothes, not pausing in his motions even though Yugi knew he knew that he was watching him.

Yami stretched himself out and Yugi watched the muscles in his back roll as his shirt was pulled on over his head. Yami's hair was disarrayed from its usual chaotic gravity-defying spikes but sex hair definitely looked good on the red-eyed teen.

Yugi admired that sex hair for a moment and then smirked before shaking his head and frowning. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he admiring  _Yami's_ sex hair, of all people?

When you hooked up with someone for meaningless sex, release, you weren't supposed to admire them. You were supposed to just look at them and not care. But then, their situation wasn't exactly the most normal in any way.

Nerds were not supposed to be fucking bad boys. Bad boys were supposed to be the ringleaders of fucking every girl at school. They were not supposed to associate with geeks. And if they did, they sure as  _hell_ were not supposed to let them fuck them and especially not initiate it  _or_ let it happen more than once. If it happened that once, you never spoke of it. If it happened more than once…it meant something was going on.

That was what Joey told him. If you fucked a girl and it wasn't that great and they tried to brag about it, you denied it. And if the fucking continued, it meant either you liked it and won't admit it, or you have no taste in your fuck buddies.

But then, neither of them was female and Yugi  _admitted_ to liking Yami fucking him.

Ugh, that word left a bitter taste in his mouth. Should he really be calling it that? It was vulgar, yes, but it was exactly what they were doing. They had no feelings for each other. The hookups were just happening because they wanted to use each other.

It meant nothing else.

"You hungry?"

The words left his mouth before he could even consider saying them.

Yami stopped short and turned his head, surprised, and then shook his head after a moment, pulling his canvas bag on and heading for the stairs. "No, but thank you for your concern."

Yugi shrugged and Yami was gone before he could even lower his shoulders completely.

Geez, that kid was fast.

* * *

Yami was still apprehensive when they got to the shop. He noticed that Yugi did not call out and he did not flip the sign over either; instead his hand was in his and he was being tugged upstairs into Yugi's room. He was about to ask about the project but a single look from the smaller teen warned him against it.

And then he remembered the taunts that they had gotten at school. Someone had called Yugi out on his good grade, called him pathetic and brainless for letting Yami do the whole thing the last time. Of course they hadn't been brave enough to say it to his face but they said it loud enough that when Yami was walking past their table which was right near Yugi's, practically everyone heard it.

Yami had stopped short for a second, blinking, Yugi had looked like he wanted to kill the girl but when he spared a half-assed flicker of his eyes towards their table, not one of them looked like they were going to do or say anything about it. Instead Joey and Ushio were smirking, Tristan was frowning, but Tea…she was watching him with a blatant stare. Yami would have rebutted this himself but one look at Yugi said that if he opened his mouth he would die a very bloody and painful death and despite how much his pride flared with the remark and the resentment towards Yugi's friends made his blood boil, he turned away and headed to his own table. It didn't stop someone from calling him a nerd—albeit playfully—but he ignored it in order to talk to the twins because if he hadn't, with all the dislike and indignation flaring in his system, he might have ended up throwing his food over someone else's head and he couldn't risk drawing attention.

Yami's stomach twisted. Yugi wanted a distraction.

And while Yami hated to be used—it was all he had known his entire life—oddly enough, this time he had no qualms with it.

He could do that if it meant Yugi felt better. After all, he could have very done the same for him when he came to his house drunk. He couldn't remember and if he really did rape him like the voice in the back of his head suspected, he owed him a lot more than just this.

He stiffened when Yugi put his hand down his pants, gripping his penis and pumping once or twice before palming him; Yami nearly panicked for a moment. It had nothing to do with his thoughts but merely the fact that this was the first time anyone had ever touched him like this before except for that one night that Yugi woke him up.

Yugi ignored the stiffening of his companion and instead worked his tongue into his mouth, resorting to pinching his arm when Yami didn't react to him licking his bottom lip. Yugi rolled his eyes behind their lids when Yami didn't immediately react to him and he was a mere second away from pulling back and snapping at him when the minty dark chocolate-flavored muscle started to dance against his. Yugi liked this feeling of control he had in that moment.

Yami was yielding to every one of his advances, letting him push at his lips and dominate his mouth effectively with his tongue. He didn't argue when Yugi started stripping him of his clothes, helping him to do what he wanted. And when Yugi didn't even bother to let him prep him and just hopped onto him, he choked into his mouth.

Yugi stilled himself because the lack of prep had made his ass burn again, and instead just focused on letting himself adjust to Yami's penis inside him. He was just glad that Yami's body was not as naïve as his mind seemed to be and he had hardened while they were kissing, quickened by Yugi's touch when he had taken up pumping and palming him again.

Yugi had to admit that their position was not the best. He hadn't even bothered to let them get further than the foot of the bed and Yami's legs were dangling off the side and Yugi's feet were next to Yami's knees. He had completely dismissed the idea of positioning, straddling him with his knees pressed against Yami's hips.

Yami was staring at him, eyes wide with surprise and blank of any other emotion. Yugi kept his arms around Yami's neck for balance, leaning forward slightly as he moved experimentally. This position, with Yami sitting up and the strange sensation of his feet having no purchase, was awkward and scared him a little.

Yugi had always had a deep fear of heights and it was doubled with the sensation of his feet not touching the ground. And with only Yami to keep him grounded, it was something that made his skin crawl. He hated depending on others. He had depended on his parents and they had left him behind and whenever his grandfather left, half the time he had the thought that he would not come back.

His parents were supposed to love each other. That was the whole point of them being married, right? So then why had they split up when he was only one and a half and dumped him with his grandpa? Yugi only  _had_ memories of Solomon and none of his parents outside of the—three, maybe four?—visits from them. They only came on his birthday and stayed for only two or three days if he was lucky enough to be graced with their presence at all.

They were his parents and they were supposed to be there for him and outside of financial support—they sent it via a debit card that he could use but never touched—they did nothing for him. His grandfather was literally the only constant in his life outside of Tea and half the time he couldn't even find it in himself to trust them completely. His grandfather was almost never there after he turned twelve—he did not blame him for wanting to do something with his life now that Yugi could practically take care of himself—and Tea's attention was very subjective. He had to meet a certain criteria for her to give him her undivided attention.

But that undivided attention? It was barely worth the crap he had to do in order to get it.

So to have to use Yami as an anchor in order to avoid falling off the bed made his skin crawl and his breathing quicken for a moment. Yugi barely even really  _knew_ Yami. The most he knew was that he was an only child like him, he had four different cousins that were all male, he was great for partner projects, hated to speak in front of others, and his youngest cousin was in the hospital. Outside of that he truly had no other clue about who Yami was.

That thought actually made his chest hurt. He didn't know Yami. And, oddly enough, he found he really wanted to.

But not today. Today was purely for sex. Purely for distraction.

He bit his lip and then moved again, pulling himself up so that Yami was only inside of him by the tip. The prospect of falling was definitely in the back of his mind and a cynical voice spat at him that Yami might just let him, but when he wavered, Yami's hands were on his hips as they had been when he had first tried this position.

His teeth dug into his cheek with the idea that he could trust him, but it didn't stop him from tightening his grip around Yami's neck, leaning forward into him more and then continuing his movements.

He burned horribly. And he thought that it would never stop but when he paused and waited for it to leave for several minutes, Yami's hands just firm enough to reassure him of holding him there, it faded away. The sensation of panic at the back of his mind, the thought that he would fall over the edge of the bed? That didn't leave.

He didn't know Yami well enough to trust him not to let him fall. The idea made his stomach sink so he pushed it away and instead started to quicken his pace. He couldn't find his prostate no matter how many times he shifted his position and when Yami started with, "I—" he snarled, "Shut up, you talk too much" before the taller teen could get a second word out of his mouth.

He immediately felt bad because Yugi had a feeling he was only going to help him find it, but he was too mad with what had happened at school that he didn't care for it at all. Screw it if he hurt Yami's feelings or whatever. He just was not in the mood to deal with everything.

And Yugi didn't  _want_ to depend on Yami to find  _his_ prostate. He should  _know_ where it was because it was his body. But then that was a stupid idea because he had never once touched himself. So that idea was ridiculous.

Yami turned meek again. His eyes lowered, his head bowed slightly and turned to the side, and he wouldn't look at him. Yugi felt like someone had just driven a pick ax into his chest when he saw that and he would have apologized but then Yami seemed to have pulled out of it just as fast and was now guiding his hips so that he hit his prostate every time.

But he still didn't look up and his head remained as it was, lowered just enough that his hair was only a mere inch from Yugi's face. He started to call him out on it, but then pushed that thought away again immediately. He was not going to be nastier than he already had because obviously he had affected Yami a lot more than he had meant to and the guilt was already there eating away at him.

Yugi had never made grand gestures before so he didn't know what he could do to make Yami feel better and instead just kept going. Yugi didn't last nearly as long as he would have if there hadn't been that tension between them and Yugi just wanting to get his release for the moment, his distraction.

Yami didn't release him until he pulled himself off twenty minutes later, feeling rather disgusted with himself for using the red-eyed teen like this. And it definitely didn't help that Yami was not looking at him even after he took a seat next to him, pulling his pants on again and watching as Yami did the same before wandering off into the bathroom to—Yugi supposed—clean himself off.

Yami turned the faucet on and then grabbed one of the towels hanging on the rack and started wiping the semen off his chest and torso. His head was numb with Yugi's words; if he had spoken too much, why did everyone else say that he talked too little? Was there no balance for him? Either he spoke too much or too little.

And each time he had gotten punished for it. He didn't give enough information or he gave too much and he was sore for days on end with bruises. He was well aware that Yugi was not his father but the way he had said it still made his stomach twist and his instincts told him that he was going to be punished. His head hurt with the thought. His muscles hurt with the tension that had been born with Yugi's words.

He couldn't unclench his jaw no matter how hard he tried and his back was sharp with harsh pain in his spine from the locked muscles. He could practically hear his bones moving beneath his skin and it brought back too many thoughts that made his head swim with massive pain.

He couldn't push it away immediately and it took several tries before it was finally snuffed when he put the towel away to dry and then walked back out, grabbing his shirt and jacket and pulling them back on.

Yugi now had his laptop out on his lap, typing away and acting as if nothing had happened. Maybe it was honestly not worth questioning. Yami found it to be a strange idea but he liked pretending that this had not just happened. He definitely didn't want to associate Yugi with his father in any way, shape or form and ignoring it was effective enough in that aspect.

"So I was thinking that we would do the pharaohs in Egypt," Yugi announced, and just like that, Yami felt something akin to hatred boil beneath his skin; he did not like Yugi anymore. Fuck it all, it was like Yugi was  _trying_ to make Yami flee.

"Oh?"

It came out slightly rough and Yugi's head snapped up, eyes widening in surprise because Yami's voice had dropped drastically, coming out cold and low and barely audible.

For a full three minutes neither of them spoke, merely staring at each other, and then finally Yugi turned back to his laptop and murmured, "We don't have to but I figured it would be easiest."

They had gotten their sixty-page essay on the general society of Egypt done, a complete overview of it all, but now they needed to pick a subject and do it and from the list pertaining to Egypt, in all honesty, it was either the slaves or the pharaohs and Yami could definitely understand why the pharaohs would be more appealing.

He took a seat and pulled his legs up, kicking his shoes off and going over to him to look over his shoulder at the computer screen. He really didn't want Yugi to find out about Atem the pharaoh because he sure as hell would notice the resemblance—especially when he saw the stupid tablet carving that had both Atem and his…whatever he was, that looked exactly like Seto Kaiba.

Yugi would make the connection. There was no way he wouldn't.

Yami personally hated himself for looking like that fucking seventeen-year-old on the tablet. And he hated the fact that the tablet itself was  _in_ the museum in  _Domino City_. An Egyptian woman named Ishizu Ishtar had brought it with her for whatever reason, brought it to the museum, made a big point of showing off a picture of the Millennium Puzzle that Yami himself owned and kept in his house.

No one had managed to put it together in their family outside of Atem the pharaoh and the artifact was priceless, as was the Millennium Rod that Seto had given Malik when he dismissed his heritage and the Millennium Ring that Bakura wore every now and then beneath his clothes. Ishizu wore the Necklace, someone else had the Anhk and the Scales and the Eye.

So if Yugi were to look up the pharaohs, he'd be able to track him back to Yami himself and Yami definitely did not want this, but Yugi was right in saying that they would find much more on the pharaohs than the slaves, especially considering they needed names of actual people in that time…

"All right. But how about I do the research and you can do the slides?"

Yugi gave him a confused look. The last time they had worked on their project, they had equally split the work up and worked on the slideshows and research together. Yami couldn't blame him for his confusion and he hated that he was practically pushing him away like this, but he couldn't find it in himself to care as much as he should have.

Because if he did this, there was no way he was going back home again and he  _needed_ to go home. It haunted his dreams, ate away at his subconscious. He wanted to go  _home_.

It wasn't a punishment—him being in Japan—but it might as well have been.

Yami didn't hate it in Japan. Far from it, actually. He loved it here. But he missed his parents despite himself. He didn't understand how he could miss them—not at all, in fact—but he did and he missed the sights. He missed everything about home.

His stomach twisted with the thought of going back. He wanted to so badly, but at the same time, he didn't  _want_ to have to be around his parents, no matter how much he missed them. Not that he didn't seem to have them constantly sticking their noses into his business.

Still a virgin? Are there any cute girls? You should try to get a job at Kaiba Corp—is your cousin hiring? Well I'm sure he'd make a spot just for you if you asked him for one. Grades? How are Bakura and Malik? Oh, they're good? That's great. So, how are you doing in school? Are you at the top of your classes? I didn't raise you be a slacker. You better not disgrace this family. Stay away from any boys who don't look like they have a girlfriend. You never know over there. Don't bring attention to yourself.

Every conversation was the same. Yes, still a virgin—like he was going to tell them he'd gotten with a boy; he'd sooner die. Yes, there are some cute girls but none of them are really my type. No, Seto is not hiring. Yes, he probably  _would_ open a spot for me if I asked him to. Good. Good. I'm doing well in school. Yes, I am at the top of my classes—in fact I'm called a geek because I've got high grades. No, you did not raise me to be a slacker. I will not disgrace the family, I promise. I don't have any guy friends except for one and I don't hang out with him. Yeah, I guess so. Will not bring attention to myself, thank you for fucking reminding me. Goodbye.

He could recite every conversation they had ever had since he had gotten into Japan because it was practically just a constant cycle of repeated questions and scolding and remarks. And he answered the same every time. He wondered if his parents realized that or not.

He honestly didn't think they did or they might have called him out on his bored tone every time he spoke to them. His mother probably thought he was depressed or tired every time they spoke. And his father was just digging for things he did wrong so that he could use them to bury barbs into him.

Yugi was still staring at him in pure confusion that was slowly changing into slight suspicion. "I guess so. Why?"

"Because that way it will be easier," Yami lied effortlessly. "And besides, you're better with computer graphics than I am."

That was true. Yami had never actually  _been_ exposed to technology for the most part. He had had to pick up where his mind didn't comprehend and he'd had to do it all in three weeks—fourteen years' worth of technology drilled into his head just before ninth grade began and he had to blend in with everyone else.

His parents had said on more than one occasion that technology was a waste of time and would ruin his brain and so had forbade him from being around it whatsoever. Instead he was kept under lock and key with his parents' constant guidance and supervision.

"Yeah, but if we split up the research—"

"I know that it means you can just pick and choose what you want to put on the slides," Yami spat. "I  _was_ there when we did our last project, Yugi."

The smaller teen bristled. "Okay, you know  _what_? If you're being pissy about what happened a few minutes ago—"

"It was thirty minutes ago and no, that's not why I'm pissy. You just aren't listening to me."

"If I wasn't listening I wouldn't be arguing, now would I Yami? I have to listen to what you're saying in order to be able to make an argument with you."

"Semantics are bullshit, Yugi."

"Semantics are the grounds of society."

"Whatever. Just let me do the research and you can do the slideshow. Let's just stick to what we're  _good_ at, shall we?"

"Are you saying I can't take good notes?"

"No. That's what you just said."

Yugi glared at him angrily. "You piss me off so badly."

"And you make me want to wring my own neck in order to avoid your presence."

"…That's a little fucked up."

"But it's also the truth." He snorted and looked at the laptop. "When does your grandfather get back?"

That was a wild change of subject that didn't go unnoticed but Yugi decided to indulge him. "Another week."

"So what do you guys do to keep in touch? Video chatting? Phone calls?"

"All of the above and texts."

"Well, that must be nice, right? He keeps you updated."

Yugi stared at him and the single word came stretched out and suspicious. "Yeah." What the hell was Yami getting at? And why did he look slightly pale, like he was up to something and extremely nervous about being caught?

"Does he ever ask about your grades and stuff?"

What the hell kind of question was that?

"Not really. Why?"

 _Just wanted to see_ just _how unnatural my family really is_ , Yami thought wryly, shaking his head. "No reason. Just curious."

"What's with the sudden interest about my grandpa? And family is supposed to be off limits, remember?"

Yami was silent for a long time. "My parents always ask about my grades—every night. And they don't bother to talk to me unless it's by the phone." His answers, his voice, came out cold and calculating. "And I only ask because I was curious about it."

Yugi looked at the screen and chewed his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter. Sorry doesn't mean anything," Yami replied, grabbing the smaller boy's laptop from his lap and starting up the internet.

"Where are your parents?"

Yami's entire body went rigid for one split second and then he was in an expressionless yet oddly relaxed-looking posture. "They travel a lot," he lied, shrugging. "They're always moving around so I never know where they are."

"They don't take you with them when they travel?"

"Apparently it would have messed with my schooling."

"I guess that's a pretty big deal in your family huh?"

Yami wasn't stupid so he didn't ask why he would say that; he had just told him, after all. Instead he let out an affirmative hum of "Mm" that made Yugi frown at him in response, the smaller teen's teeth digging into his bottom lip.

"Look, if I said something to you earlier—"

"Seriously, Yugi, don't  _bother_ apologizing."

"But—"

"It doesn't fucking  _matter_. I don't care and I sure as hell don't care for an apology. Be sorry all you want to but don't waste my time and yours verbalizing it."

Yugi's mouth fell open in shock, eyes wide, and Yami ignored him pointedly, at his patience's end with this conversation. He should have known better than to bother even trying small talk. For whatever reason, they always ended up at each other's throats.

"All right…fine," Yugi finally muttered, still looking and sounding dazed when he turned away and stared at the laptop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	6. The Pulse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon)  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read until the statement "I didn't know if you wanted cream cheese or peanut butter or what so I just put butter on there". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and use the Find function to skip to there.  
> Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...  
> Sexual Situation Warning: There is a highly sexual moment in chapter that I suppose could be a lime. Either way, it starts at "But I would rather show you how much I like you. Would you let me?" and ends at the second part of chapter.

Chapter VI: The Pulse

It was only after Yugi asked again why Yami wanted to do all the research himself that he realized the subject was not about to be dropped and it irritated him to no end. Yugi stared at him curiously the entire time and Yami was fed up with him. They'd just spent two hours talking and revising their sixty-page essay on a general overview of Egypt and they'd made over twenty punctuation corrections and read it between them at least five times before they put it away again. As soon as Yugi had closed the Word Document with their essay, he was once again questioning him and Yami almost wanted to wring his neck. Why could the boy not just take his suggestion for what it was and let it go?

Yugi kept poking at it. He hadn't been direct at first, skirting around it, letting pharaohs slip into the conversation once or twice—Yami had effectively shut him down without so much as a glance in his direction by veering straight into the document again—but now, after two hours, he had obviously lost his patience and was awaiting an answer.

One that Yami had no plans on giving him.

"Because, I can get the research done easily. It shouldn't matter how we split the work up, should it?"

"Yes, it should, because we split the other one between us easily."

"So what? Maybe I want to see if this will work as well."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I don't."

"Yeah?" Yami sneered, losing all patience and glaring at him angrily. "Well, maybe I don't give a fuck what you want."

"That's great, because I don't give a fuck what you want either."

Both of them glared at each other for a moment and then the tension between them started changing. First they were glaring and then they were starting to breathe a little differently, almost panting. And then Yami's tongue was in his mouth again and Yugi was practically trembling with delight.

He had to push him away, which made Yami stare at him in confusion, to put the laptop back on his desk, and then he was all the taller teen's again. He still looked slightly confused but that was quickly gone when Yugi leaned towards him again; when he gripped at Yami's jacket, licking his lips once before pressing the moist, soft mouth against the taller teen's, Yami was completely levelheaded again. He ended up fighting off any thoughts in his head and let him get lost in the sensation of the way Yugi worked his tongue against his.

Yugi wrapped his arms around his neck and there was this strange sensation of tingles that ran through his system and then, slowly, it turned into a steady pulse like a heartbeat, warm and moving through his body heatedly. It was strange and different and he loved it, wanted more of it, feeling his entire body grow to a very comfortable heat that made everything in him pulsate at a point that felt entirely foreign but beautiful at the same time.

Stripping him of his jacket and t-shirt, Yugi ran his hands up and down his exposed flesh and began to grind his body against his, reveling in the way that Yami bared his teeth slightly and a moan passed from behind them. The growl came out a second later when Yugi ground himself hard against Yami's growing erection, the noise startling both of them for a split second before Yugi pushed into him harder and faster, his hips rolling with the effort and his body feeling desperate for more.

He moved his legs to press his knees into the other boy's hips, holding him tightly in this way and moving himself even faster. Yami's jaw set as Yugi ran his tongue over his lips and used his fingers to tip the taller teen's head up so that he could press their foreheads together. The red eyes were open and deep, like twin pools of lava and the smaller teen realized that for the first time, the gaze was perfectly open, letting him swim in the depths just as he might very well drown in his own.

The nimble fingers pulled his zipper down, sneaking his hands into his pants and pressing his palms lightly into his flesh before starting to ease the jeans down his hips, his teeth lightly biting into Yugi's lips, licking a moment later and then kissing again. Yugi moaned softly into his mouth as Yami's hands started touching him everywhere, as if trying to memorize his skin, possessing him. The kiss changed a little and Yugi found it oddly mesmerizing how his lips hardened in their pursuit of his in only seconds, charging against his as his tongue batted his down in a show of dominance.

Yugi actually loved this. Any other time and he thought he might have been upset with the thought of someone overpowering him like this, but it was oddly nice to feel Yami at this rougher rhythm. He wanted to lose his skin, his soul, his mind, his being, if only to feel this again, like he was alive—so much more alive than he had ever felt before in all sixteen years of his life.

When Yami raised his hands above his head, Yugi found it almost impossible to keep moving anymore because suddenly those red eyes were so close that they were all the smaller teen could see. In that single moment Yami was literally all-encompassing, leaning forward to press kisses on Yugi's mouth but not once releasing his hold on him, rendering him unable to close his eyes. Strange and ragged pants emptied in the air between them in sync, quickening as Yugi pulled his arms back down to start on Yami's pants in a desperation that made his fingertips shake.

Sparks of lightning burning of fire and refreshing like ice pulsed through him wildly as the taller teen's tongue twisted around Yugi's almost as if the muscle was a live wire, the air between them seeming to vibrate with the energy that pulsated through them. Yami pulled his arms back over his head and pulled away in one quick movement, his grip warm but loose against his wrists even as the backs of his hands pressed against the cool wood of his headboard and his head tipped to the side, stretching himself out like a cat to keep his hips away from the smaller boy's, settled on his haunches as his right hand pressed against his soft stomach.

With his jeans down at his knees and his hands restrained, Yugi had no real option of movement beyond his head and hips which he tried to utilize in a struggle of thrusting them against Yami's lap. But every time he got remotely close Yami would use his right hand to push him back with the single difference in his facial features being the slight narrowing of his eyes as he shook his head slowly, as if he was thinking hard about something and Yugi was distracting him.

Yami really wasn't sure why he was doing this, holding him like this, but Yugi was not arguing and he had yet to see him squirm aside from trying to impale himself again, which Yami was trying to prevent because Yugi obviously had not felt that great initially when he did this only a couple of hours ago.

Yugi kept squirming and trying to get him inside of him, but then whined when he seemed to remember the boxers he still wore, glaring at Yami who smirked against his lips and then pulled his underwear down, teasing him with gentle fingers and smirking wider. He pressed his fingers into his hip several times, lightly ghosting his digits down his pelvis to his erection and lightly touching it for a few moments before pulling his boxers down completely to join his jeans.

Yugi hissed as the sudden cold air he was exposed to and Yami chuckled against his mouth but pulled him into another kiss, his tongue once again wrapping around his with that sparking ice cold blazing hot fire that he somehow invoked in him. A tremble passed through him and his erection leaked with pre-cum, rimming him with his index finger and then lightly pressing his nail into the ring of his muscle, making Yugi gasp into his mouth.

But it did its job. Yugi relaxed impossibly and Yami pressed his fingertip inside of him before getting the first joint of his finger, watching Yugi immediately for any pain or tension, but the blue-violet-eyed sixteen-year-old showed none because he didn't feel the need to tense and Yami got his finger all the way to the knuckle. Yugi was definitely happier with the sensation of Yami prepping him because it didn't make his entire lower back burn.

Yami got his second finger in and Yugi was somewhat stunned by the fact that he didn't once look away from his eyes. The smaller teen was confused by the pulsing sensation growing tenfold in his body, now in time with the pump of Yami's fingers. He could feel the taller teen's fingers moving and changing position, watched as Yami pulled back slightly from him, his teeth digging into his cheek before smirking when Yugi moaned as the two fingers pressed into his prostate and excitement burst through his system.

He purred as Yami continued moving and then bucked, banging his head against the headboard hard enough to make it whine and the wood to hit the plaster behind it, surprising the red-eyed teen who's gaze widened drastically with the suddenness of the action. "Yami…" He really hated the idea of begging, but he couldn't help it at the moment. There was something about the red-eyed teen that made his heart pound harder and it was confusing to him but he couldn't stop it—not that he wanted to. "Please…"

"Don't beg," he murmured, licking his lips and nipping his lip with a small bite that made Yugi impossibly more excited, distracting him from Yami's third finger that pumped several times and then pulled away as Yugi moaned and then squirmed, wanting them back. "Not for this."

He might have been seeing things—in fact he was pretty sure he was—but the eyes in front of him shown with a clear desperation, something strange that swirled with a dense cloud of lust and something vicious like that of roaring flames. But the desperation, Yugi recognized, was yearning. Yami was yearning for something badly and Yugi had no idea what it was or if he would ever tell him.

"What do you want?"

He didn't think he could give it to him, not in any way, but he still asked because the desperation made his skin tingle and his heart pound faster, that pulse throbbing with heat as it traveled through his system.

For a moment Yami did not respond, his eyes growing a little narrower in expression, but slowly he released his wrists in order to hook his right index under Yugi's choker and press his lips against his softly, kissing him again before nipping his bottom lip and pulling his top, nibbling on the tender flesh as if he were contemplating something. For a moment his right hand touched his face, thumbed just beneath his nose and passed against the edge of his mouth. With the rush of blood that passed through his freed hands, Yugi found himself startled by the sensation of Yami's left hand finding its way to his chest, pressing over his heart momentarily before it moved away to press into his right hip, pinning him to the bed. For a moment Yugi did nothing but allow Yami to touch him, curiosity burning its way through his system as thoughts of whether Yami yearned for that connection again just as he did or if he wanted this for another reason entirely.

Was it possible that the want in his eyes was for the deeper physical sensation that their joined bodies brought him? Yugi himself craved it, especially after his own disgusting release hours ago; he hadn't felt that connection whatsoever then, though the sensation of falling had sufficiently made up for that.

Yugi lifted his knee and managed to slip his right leg out of his jeans and did the same with his left, shedding his clothes to the ground with an easy kick and reveling in the way that Yami did not once take his eyes away, the red gaze sparking with several different emotions that he couldn't read.

He pressed his knee into his hip and the cloud that coated Yami's eyes thickened before they suddenly cleared and drew him forth, threatening to drown him in their essence of dark ruby, warm and deep and rich in depth.

"Please, Yami."

The hoarse words were said against his lips, and he wrapped his arms around his neck, struggling to keep their foreheads against each other. For whatever reason, he felt that Yami could not break eye contact. Not once. Not for a single second. Yugi felt it when Yami pushed his boxers down, his erection long and smooth and hot against his tummy, leaking with pre-cum and heating his flesh warmly and leaving him squirming with the new touch.

Yami didn't respond immediately, blinking once, and then murmured his words from earlier, "What do you want?" with his head tilted slightly to the side and his eyes narrowed in question as the ruby shade grew a little deeper in color.

He tilted his head in confusion, wondering at this question, finding himself drowning in it momentarily before shaking it off and squirming to which Yami took the hint and grabbed his hips, positioning him before lowering him gently until he was sheathed inside of him; Yugi moaned softly, surprised out of his mind when Yami growled against his neck, his fingers suddenly working at the buckle of his choker and pulling the piece of leather from his neck, biting his flesh. It was not gentle but it was not harsh either and Yugi's legs clamped around his hips, eyes wide in shock.

A hand snaked up into his hair, rubbing gently at the nape before massaging with the tips of his fingers, kneaded at the flesh with his palm. It was gentle and apologetic, a clear gesture of "sorry for the bite" in which his teeth were still clamped around his skin, not breaking the delicate flesh and his tongue pressing flat against it. Yugi found the assault of his senses to be exciting and terrible all at once, moaning at the sensation.

The sound of their skin slapping together echoed around the room and Yugi moaned harder every time he hit his prostate and when Yami finally pulled his mouth from his flesh, he felt the hand that had been massaging the nape of his neck go into his hair, cradling his scalp for a moment before massaging again.

It was strange but the relentlessness of Yami's thrusts, never faulting in rhythm, was some kind of statement of how well they seemed to understand each other despite their constant arguments. It was different that Yami was doing this  _for_ him because normally no one would ever be willing to do something like this for him of all people. It was like some kind of truth between them, emotions in their purest sense. It was harsh, intense, a demanding situation that demanded satiation. They didn't even need words. It was as if it was in their blood and bones, a part of them that only reacted when around the other.

He had to brace himself against Yami's shoulders to keep his position, the pulse that existed between them growing tenfold as fire tumbled through his system and coated Yami's body, the smaller boy whimpering when he went another four thrusts before following his lead, his face finding solace in the crook of his neck again. Yugi panted as Yami breathed against his neck which throbbed in a strange rhythm of pleasure and pain from his bite. His hands, warm and yet cold at the same time, caressed his sides.

"Yugi," he muttered, pressing his smooth soft cheek against his neck, the bite mark, an act of soothing that made Yugi tremble with pleasure. "Fuck, I'm sorry." His hands went from his sides to his hips to pull him off his lap, settling him back down onto the comforter and kissing his neck. He was trembling against him, sweaty.

"I don't know why I did that. I'm not like this…"

Yugi rubbed at his back lightly, too tired to speak despite Yami's face lowering to take place against his chest, lips against his skin just above his heart. For a long five minutes he had to catch his breath and think and then murmured, "I know. You aren't going to hurt me."

 _I do that enough for both of us_.

"Good." Yami hugged him tightly for a moment and Yugi listened to a few more small whispered apologies for the bite he had given him. Yugi touched at the skin and found that while it was throbbing it did not hurt, not truly, and touching it was not painful in any way. When he hugged Yami back, his lips pulled back into a small smirk.

The throbbing wasn't pain. It hadn't been pain at all. It was a mixture of pleasure and that pulse that had coursed through him the entire time they had started fucking.

The next morning at six-thirty-six a.m.—he got up and made some breakfast without waking the other boy who he  _knew_  was getting up only five minutes after he got situated at the table—Yugi handed him the bagel. "I'm straight," he muttered, the words an effort to remind himself now that he couldn't stop thinking about almost everything.

Yami took it from him and stared at it for a moment before taking a bite out of the blueberry breakfast pastry—he guessed that was what it was anyways—to taste the butter that was warm and melted into it the bread. The blueberries nearly melted in his mouth and he almost wanted to cry. He hadn't eaten bagels in such a long time it was insane. "So am I," he answered as soon as he swallowed and then started eating again just as quickly.

Yugi looked at him curiously and murmured, "I didn't know if you wanted cream cheese or peanut butter or what so I just put butter on there."

He honestly wasn't sure why he bothered to tell him that when Yami very obviously was not paying attention to him in the first place and looked beyond happy with the bagel he was munching on. He looked like a happy dog that had just gotten a treat. It was both terribly unnerving and oddly satisfying at the same time. Yugi swallowed hard for a moment, watching him eat his bagel with that same happy-dog expression, and then went back to eating his cereal though he couldn't help looking up several times.

What was with him? Had he never had a bagel before? Or maybe he was just that crazy about blueberries. Yugi nearly choked on his own laughter and cereal with that thought and Yami's head snapped up very suddenly to look at him, confused.

Yugi waved a hand dismissively and shook his head, turning back to his cereal bowl. From the corner of his eye he saw Yami looking at his bagel and then eating it faster before a very low, muffled by food, voice came out and said, "Thank you. See you later, Yugi" before Yami vanished. Yugi looked after him with a reciprocated goodbye that he didn't think Yami heard, and then started eating his cereal again.

He had expected Yami to leave as soon as he was done eating but he had partly expected him to flee  _before_ he even got to eat.

The bite mark had faded overnight, of course, but he didn't truly care at any point, tilting his head as he took another bite of cereal. Why was it that he allowed Yami to sink his teeth into his neck like that or even fucking stick his tongue down his throat every other time they were together? It made no sense considering the fact that he was always into Tea in the first place. It made no sense that he was willing to let him continue after that night he got drunk. Then again, he was still unsure of why he let that happen in the first place. Was it really the attention that he sought from Yami or was it something else entirely? Was it possible he was one of those late bloomers when it came to sexuality?

He knew that most gay guys, if they didn't want to admit it or otherwise, would date girls before they would finally hook up with a guy. Was that what this was? Except, kind of in reverse? He had hooked up with a guy while always having had a crush on a girl from his childhood. Could that still be applied to everything? Could he be gay? Is that why this kept happening?

Because every time he was around Yami, all he could possibly think about was sex. It was always sex. It lingered in his subconscious even when he tried to focus on the projects they were working on. He would force himself to pay attention to his work in order to avoid that little thought that kept snaking up into his mind about Yami naked. It was sickening, in all actuality. He didn't know what to do about it all and it made his stomach hurt. So perhaps he was gay.

Yugi didn't find Yami until third period in which Yami spent the entire time doing his worksheet while the rest of the class continued talking about stupid stuff when the teacher left the room after handing it out to them. Joey copied off his sheet the entire time and Yugi hated him in that instant for doing so, somehow avoiding Joey's notice every time that he glanced at the red-eyed teen.

Yami didn't look up for the longest time but when he finally did, Yugi found himself going rigid with surprise. It was a blank stare, head tilted slightly to the side, but it was the fact that images, ideas, unrealistic sexual positions flooded his mind upon their eyes locking that made him freeze like this.

Joey looked up and snatched his paper while he was distracted, copying it while Yugi was unable to look away. The blond didn't notice the way that Yugi had frozen or that he was not looking at him despite his blunt action of taking the worksheet from him.

The red eyes were scarlet now, curious. Yugi only knew the shades of red after looking them up online; it was rather embarrassing to think about the fact that he could not stay asleep one night after meeting Yami and had somehow ended up looking up the shades of red after ten minutes of rolling around in bed.

He really wished he could have said something to the red-eyed teen. It was insane how badly he wanted to talk to him, but he would never live it down if he didn't do it when the others weren't immediately around him. And with Joey right next to him…

Neither of them looked away for a long time and then finally Yami turned away because the teacher had appeared behind the door; he made a single gesture with his finger towards Yugi who snatched his sheet back from Joey when the teacher started walking back into the room.

Yami's lips twitched into a smirk as the rest of the class froze, went quiet, and then scrambled to start on their worksheets only to find that the period was only a minute away from conclusion.

Yugi didn't get to talk to him until lunch and found him outside the library doors, talking to one of his teachers about something that Yugi just barely caught wind of being his homework assignments for the next week so that he could do them early because he wasn't going to have enough time for it that week for something family related.

His teacher did not look pleased and Yugi listened to her say that he had done this exact same thing not two months ago to which he watched with a dazed expression as Yami's head suddenly tilted and his eyes became smoldering and hypnotizing, searing into hers as he said he was sorry for the inconvenience but he really wished that she would help him with this because otherwise he would not be able to give her his homework assignments until the week after because he truly could not do the next week's worth of work until his family emergency was taken care of.

Yugi stared at him in shock at that statement and the way the teacher seemed to melt into his gaze and nodded at him slowly before agreeing wholeheartedly; as soon as she was gone, he turned away, rolling his eyes, and then froze when he spotted him, eyes widening in surprise.

The blue-violet-eyed boy gave him a smirk and Yami grinned lazily before opening the door of the library for him. "So, I guess you saw that, huh?"

"Yeah, you're a real smooth talker, huh?"

Yami's eyebrow rose and he was smirking playfully when he joked, "That's how I normally get in your pants, right?" in a low voice that Yugi barely heard as he passed him, his face lighting up when he realized that could have been a joke or a dig at his "status" as a "sex slave" and finding himself unsure of what to respond with before turning around and jumping backwards when he found himself face to chest with Yami.

Yugi stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, taking in the amused look on Yami's face, and then laughed lightly, running a hand through his hair in embarrassment. Yami being right behind him had scared the everlasting shit out of him.

"About that…" he breathed, glancing over his shoulder and making sure that no one was close enough to hear them talking; Yami raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "I have to ask you something."

His eyes narrowed drastically, darkening dangerously. "Shoot."

Yugi glanced around again and then led the way over to the farthest table in the back, sitting down and glancing around again to see that no one was around. "First, um, what were you doing coming in here anyways? I mean, we weren't supposed to be meeting today."

"I was going to check out a couple of books," he admitted, gesturing to the lack of items he had carried in; Yugi felt momentarily stupid for not having noticed that before. "What were you doing in here?"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times and then looked down at the table, a small line of pink appearing on his cheeks that was just barely noticeable due to the way he lowered his head. "I came to find you so I could talk to you."

"Well, here I am. So what was it you needed?" he asked, turning around and looking at the small bookcase behind him and looking the selection over; it was several different languages—English, French, Spanish…and most of them were small picture books. His eyebrows shot up. Why the hell were they in there?

"Have you ever…err…" He clamped his front teeth into his bottom lip and thought of how he was supposed to approach the subject; when Yami finally turned his head and stared, waiting, Yugi found that the look in his eyes was rather comforting and gave him the answer to his question. "Have you ever wondered if maybe you were gay?"

The patient, expectant look died away immediately. His stomach dropped. His heart froze. Both of them stared at each other, Yugi feeling sick to his stomach as he realized that Yami had somehow gone mentally comatose without even so much as more than a small gleam that entered his eyes, turning them completely blank and dead, emotionless and haunted.

Yugi was a second away from throwing up in shock at that expression. His stomach twisted and coiled and bile rose up in the back of his throat, burning a path and making his head hurt for a moment. He hadn't meant to hurt him but it was pretty obvious that he had somehow managed to do just that.

"I'm not gay," Yami answered quietly, his voice coming out cold and dangerous. "I'm not."

He was relatively sure that Yami would not hurt him—especially since they were in school—but the expression on his face made him want to crawl in a hole somewhere. He'd seen that expression on sociopaths in movies and to see it up close made his heart pound in his chest, making his head spin as he swallowed hard.

"There's nothing wrong with—"

"Yes, there is!" Yami snarled back, his voice vicious and low, ringing with a threat that was only half noticeable under his anger. "Homosexuality is not—I'm not gay. I can't be gay…"

"Can't?" he echoed, confused. "What? Why not? It's not even a big deal, Yami. It's fine to be gay."

" _No,_  Yugi, it's  _not_."

"Yes it—"

"You don't understand anything!" he snapped darkly, eyes blazing as they locked with the blue-violet gaze of the stunned teenager in front of him. "I cannot be gay. I  _can't_. There's no way in fucking hell that I am  _gay_."

"What are you? Homophobic? That's kind of hypocritical considering."

"You understand nothing!"

"You're right. I don't understand anything. So why don't you explain?"

"I can't—"

"Can't  _what_?" Yugi asked, confused and annoyed all at once by the way he said this. "Can't  _explain_ or can't be gay? But then why  _can't_ you? What's so wrong with it? You've already acted—"

" _Shut_. Up."

He froze when the words came through his teeth, barely audible and dripping with hatred. He blinked once and the red eyes narrowed furiously as a small tremor went through his body; he was about to ask what was wrong with him because he'd never seen Yami do that before, but then he could heard mumbling, barely audible, so quiet he almost didn't catch it.

"My parents are going to kill me. By Ra, they're going to kill me. I'm dead."

Yugi furrowed his brows.

"Dad will beat me within half an inch of my life and then he'll disown me immediately after. I'll be dead to the rest of the world. I'll have nothing after high school. Mom and Dad are going to cut me off completely. I will lose everything."

"Wait, what?"

Yami got up so fast he fell backwards, hitting the ground on his back against the hard wood of the chair he had been sitting in; he let out a small gasp of pain and saw that Yami was watching him briefly with a concerned expression before his eyes turned dark with anger and hatred.

"I'm not gay," he spat viciously, turning on his heel and walking off while Yugi managed to roll over and get back up, telling the concerned librarian who came over that he was okay and that no, Yami did not push him, he just fell, that yes, it was an accident.

He hurried to put the chair back upright and started after the taller red-eyed teen but just as he got out of there, just as his eyes settled on the boy who was already halfway down the hall, the bell rang and the hall was alive with movement as students all flooded out. He tried to catch up but lost sight of him in the mass of bodies, leaving him terribly confused. What was wrong with him? What did he mean that his parents would disown him? What did he mean that he would be dead to the world?

And what the fuck was "Ra"?

He wrinkled his nose. Did Yami just mention a Duel Monsters card? What the hell?

"Yami."

The boy nearly didn't stop, disgusted with himself and confused and feeling sick to his stomach, but then a thought jumped into his head and he slowly turned around to regard the brunette who pushed her way through a couple of lines of students to see him. She stopped in front of him and Yami tilted his head slightly to the side before dragging his eyes up and down her frame slowly.

Yes, he could definitely find something that drew his attention. Tea was not ugly. She was not fat. She was curvy…well, if the skirt made any indication, anyways. If he remembered correctly, she had a nice ass—he only knew this from PE in which Joey and Tristan had decided to mess around with the girls while the coach was off talking to someone else in class; they had used a plank of wood that they were using to repair part of the roof where a light had fallen to lift her skirt up and had given literally  _everyone_ a very nice view of white panties on a round ass before she attacked them.

Yes, he remembered it because Mana had gasped and pointed and Yami had stared merely because he couldn't understand the point of this whole thing, not the least bit interested in any of the three of them and utterly bored as the brunette beat the crap out of them  _with_ the wood. And he remembered it because Tea had looked around to make sure that he had  _not_ seen and had gone so completely red that it rivaled his eyes and she and Miho had taken off running before the coach returned his attention to them.

"Hello," he greeted, unconsciously polite as always but definitely working to duplicate the smooth alluring edge that coated his words. "Tea."

She blushed slightly at the tone of his voice, husky, dripping with a small edge of something sultry. "Hi."

He waited a moment but she seemed too lost in her own debate of what to talk to him about now that she had gained his attention, and he merely circled his newest idea around in his head in the meantime. "You know, I never really noticed…but you're really beautiful."

Her face lit up to a shade equal to his eyes.

But she couldn't read his eyes.

Because she didn't know him.

And that was definitely the advantage that Yami used.

Tilting his head and lowering his voice slightly, rendering his eyes smoldering and warm, endless in fiery depth, he murmured, "I bet you get told that all the time, right?"

She blushed a warmer shade of scarlet. "Only sometimes."

"Doesn't your boyfriend tell you that all the time?" he pressed.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I thought you and Yugi were going out."

He was so jaded.

Everything was so twisted.

When did he become so fucked up?

Maybe it was just in his genes.

He smirked wryly at the thought. That would explain so much.

Tea blinked and then frowned before shaking her head slowly, her short brown hair bouncing with the movement. "Yugi? I'm not dating Yugi."

Yami forced himself to blink once in a long and slow movement that made him look confused, tilting his head again. "You're not? But you guys seem so close…"

"He's my best friend. But I don't feel that way about him."

"Oh. Well, then," he murmured, smiling like the Cheshire cat as his sharp eyes darkened with the slight lowering of his eyelids. "I guess that makes sense. I mean, you did flirt with me before."

Obviously, the comment that he  _knew_ she had flirted with him was surprising for her. Her azure eyes widened and then blinked and she blushed slightly but not enough to really draw attention to it before smiling shyly. "I didn't think you had noticed."

"Of course I did. How could I not notice someone as beautiful as you?"

He was a monster and he was going to hell.

She flushed fully this time, her heart-shaped face turning bright red at the compliment, her cheeks warm with the blood pooling beneath her skin. Her eyes shown with delight at the attention he granted her and again he was reminded of Yugi, of how he craved attention he really shouldn't.

It almost brought a scowl to his face but he battled it off before it could mar his features. "If I had known you weren't with him, I would have definitely asked you out before now," he murmured softly, warmly, his voice lilting and dark with lust that didn't truly exist.

"R-really?"

Was it just him or had her breath hitched?

Yami nodded and smiled brightly at her, the fluorescents making his perfect white teeth gleam with the small bit of saliva that coated them. He tilted his head to just the right angle, to which his bangs fell and framed his face in a way that made him look adorable, beautiful and alluring in all the right ways.

Maybe his mother had taught him something useful after all.

She was trapped, and he knew that. Her eyes grew wide and the faint pink of a blush coated her cheeks as her lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile that shouldn't exist…

"You still can…"

"I could," he agreed softly before looking over his shoulders once and then twice and slowly giving her a wide smile that made his eyes brighten in false lighting. "But I would rather  _show_ you how much I like you. Would you let me?"

A tremor of lust coursed down her spine and maybe it was hormones or maybe she was just this desperate, but a single nod of her head and she was following him outside and to the back of the school; luckily there were no lunches after their lunch period and there were no people outside at the moment because suddenly she was pressed into the bricks and a mouth, warm and dark and unyielding, was against hers, kissing with a bruising force behind it.

A tongue that tasted of honey—Yami remembered that treat because he had indulged in it a year before when he went with his cousins out to eat—met his. It tasted all wrong and when his hands grabbed at her hips, the skirt frustrated him to no end. His brain, annoyed and scathing in its argument of how wrong it all was, struggled to grasp the concept of it before he remembered that all he had to do was move his hands up her legs.

Not complicated like pants.

But too complicated for a boy who had only ever fucked another boy.

He nearly hated himself with that thought, rolling his eyes in frustration at his stupidity, not bothering to think it through before he snaked his hand up her inner thigh. She shifted a little, a small quiver of something—fear, maybe?—rushing up the skin beneath his long digits.

"W-wait," she breathed, pulling her mouth away from his and staring at a pair of red eyes that blazed into hers as he pulled his hand away from her; she couldn't read his expression because she didn't know him well enough and mistook it for lust rather than the frustration it really was. "I don't…I'm not…"

"You're still a virgin," he murmured, shrugging. "So what?"

"I've never…"

Yami waited for a long minute for her to finish the statement but when she didn't his eyes narrowed. "Never what? Been kissed? Touched? What?"

She flushed and bowed her head a little, obviously terribly embarrassed.

Yami rolled his eyes. Girls were so full of drama. No wonder he liked fucking a boy. Yugi got off on fighting with him and girls just quivered in fear and acted like the most normal thing was something to be so ashamed of.

Of course she was still a virgin. Of course she had not been kissed yet. Of course she had not been touched yet.

And that was hardly news to him anyways. She wanted him, he did not want anyone. She refused Yugi's advances in favor of ones that should never have transpired. She was only sixteen. Of course she made stupid decisions. Of course she held out. Of course she was letting this happen.

"That's okay," he cooed, deciding to play sweet and charming with a dash of heat rather than needy and full of false lust like he really was. "I won't hurt you. I can make it so pleasurable that you'll wonder why you never did this before."

She blushed and her tongue snaked out to lick lips that tasted of strawberry. "I…r-really?"

He nodded and went to say something more but she cut him off.

"Y-you're not…oh. Um…when did you…?"

"When did I lose my virginity?"

She nodded again and a small blush bloomed on her cheeks before growing tenfold as he watched her silently.

One month for the project that they initially had their first hookup after Mokuba got hit by the car, one month in between that project and this one. So, technically, this was the third month he had been disgusting and shameful…

"Three months ago."

He went with the truth because she at least deserved that much from him.

The disgusting vile creature that was Yami.

"O-oh."

He nodded. "It's not that big a deal, Tea. I mean, I lost mine when I was drunk, but still," he murmured, feeling a little sick as he thought over the details of what he should or shouldn't say, watching her closely. "If you want to stop, we can. Just tell me if it feels uncomfortable."

She bit her lip and he wondered vaguely how the hell she could even handle the sickening taste of lip gloss coating her mouth. Gods, it was on his mouth now too. He could taste it without even licking his lips; it was smothered into his mouth from the way he had assaulted hers moments before, their lips awkward in their clash, his mouth open and coaxing hers.

"O-okay. I g-guess that's okay."

He nodded and licked his lips and that disgusting taste assaulted his senses but he fought it off in favor of leaning forward and kissing her in a gentler manner, throwing away his frustration in place of gentle coaxing. She seemed to melt in his grasp, no longer quaking when he trailed his fingers to her panties, taking a new route by sliding his hand under her skirt to the waistband, slipping his fingers inside the white cotton material and trailing them down a fuzzy patch of newly-growing pubes that made him wrinkle his nose and feel frustrated for a split second to her soft folds. He hesitated for the briefest of seconds, knowing he could never go back once he did this, and then lightly stroked at her until she quaked against him before pushing his index inside of her.

She was wet and warm and it made his stomach twist.

So different. So new. So…disgusting.

She wasn't hot and overwhelmingly tight like Yugi was when he inserted his finger.

No, she was wet and warm and tight, but not tight like him.

He allowed a hiss of frustration to travel through his nose as he breathed deeply and pulled back slightly to allow Tea a chance to breathe, burying his face in a neck that smelled disgustingly strong of perfume that nearly made him gag against her skin. He returned his mouth to hers a second later, deciding that she had breathed enough because he couldn't handle that strong smell of oils and chemicals and girl product that made his sensitive nose ache close to that of a nosebleed.

Nosebleeds…

His stomach twisted harder, heaved slightly, seemed to jump and quake beneath his skin. His finger traveled up to the knuckle and the lack of resistance kind of made him feel sad but he ignored it to push in his second finger.

She moaned when he touched something deep inside of her and he decided that would have to do for now because he was not about to have sex with her.

Especially since…

He shook the thought off. Maybe it was just his thoughts that dissuaded it.

He pushed his thoughts away, cleared his mind completely, went about shutting it down, and felt his fingers plunge deep inside her as he began a strange rhythm to finger-fuck her with.

But it didn't help. His mind shut down, his senses all taking in what should have pleased him to no end, and yet it still did not work. His sense of taste betrayed him. He could not dive into the honey and drown there. His sense of touch abandoned him. His fingers, soaked in something sticky and warm, did not like the unfamiliar setting and felt too thick from the coating of fluids. His sense of smell eluded him. His nose burned with the reminiscence of her perfume that he was now too strikingly aware of against the slightly warm-chilled air and now it was doubled with what remained of the lip gloss his own lips had not taken from her mouth…

He kept thrusting his fingers in and out of her but even that didn't make his pants tight and his penis remained flaccid the entire time, nearly making him panic; when he pulled away for air, he pressed his face against the brick wall, struggling with the fact that he could not get an erection for the life of him.

Tea was panting and Yami nearly threw up. She didn't sound like Yugi. She didn't taste like Yugi. She didn't feel like Yugi. She didn't kiss like Yugi. She didn't even  _pant_ like Yugi.

He was a second away from sobbing as panic gripped him. What if he really was gay? Could he hide that when he went back? How was he supposed to keep it secret from his parents? Could he actually hide it from them? Or would it show?

When she moaned he recoiled so sharply he got whiplash and she stared at him in surprise; his fingers were disgustingly sticky and wet, warm with her juices, and he nearly threw up again.

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no…

He would have gotten on his knees and prayed to every deity out there but it would make no difference; he was screwed and his parents were going to disown him because he was a fuck up and fuck ups did exactly that. His parents would find out and he would be kicked out and homeless and shamed and a disgrace and—no, he needed to stop thinking about this.

"Yami?"

Her voice, breathless and concerned, was what made him run. He looked up for a split second and then he turned and fled with her calling after him.

* * *

Yugi opened the door to the last person he wanted to see.

"This is your fault," Yami spat, slamming the door behind him and stalking towards him, baring his teeth in a silent snarl as he stopped a foot away from him. "You and your stupid idea. If not for you, I wouldn't be so fucked up right now."

"You're blaming finger-fucking Tea on  _me_?" he snapped incredulously, blue-violet eyes wide as he shook his head and scowled at him. "You fucking dick. You  _knew_  how I felt about her."

"Oh cry me a fucking river," he snarled viciously. "Let me tell you something, Yugi, she's hardly worth the time and energy you put into her. Spread her legs like a fucking  _whore_  the moment I said I wanted her. But of course that didn't matter, because you fucked with my head and I couldn't even do anything with the little bitch."

Yugi blinked and then looked ready to spit at him, but Yami cut him off before he could say anything.

"She was tight. Really tight. I guess that's why everyone likes their little virgins, right? But no, of course, I get drunk and fuck the one little slut in high school who  _advertises_ his status as a sex slave and he decides he's going to screw me over and say that I might be gay," he snickered, shaking his head, sneering softly as he stalked forward another step. "You screwed with my head and I couldn't even fuck the bitch."

He was confused now. Tea had said that Yami ran off, but not why. Because she obviously hadn't known. And the only reason she even said anything was because she knew that they were working together on yet  _another_ partner project.

"She tastes like honey. Did you know that? Of course you didn't. Because she never wanted  _you_. Just like  _I_ never wanted you," he spat. "I never wanted you. I never wanted this. I never wanted  _any_ of it. I was on the straight and narrow. I was going to get my ass out of here. I was going to become exactly what I was  _meant_ to and then  _you—you_ had to step in and ruin  _everything_!"

"You can't blame not getting a fucking boner on me!" Yugi spat. "That's not how life works, you idiot. Have you ever considered that maybe she wasn't the right  _gender_  for you, Yami?"

"Have you ever considered that the reason she couldn't give two shits about you is because you're not  _worth_ them?"

If he had expected damage with that snarl, he was sorely mistaken. Years of bullying had hardened him to the point that the little comments that Yami could throw at him left nothing more than a small bland piece of boredom in the back of his mind that burned and lingered and then dissipated altogether because that's what happened—Yugi got  _bored_ when others insulted him.

They all became the same anyways. So what was the point of listening to everyone who wanted to try to drag him down?

What he was not expecting was the fist that slammed into his nose so hard and fast that he fell backwards; Yami looked confused and then horrified and then blinked and looked apologetic for a split second before he turned murderous and moved so fast Yugi would have missed it had he blinked.

Yami strode forward, straddled him, and started punching and grabbing and slamming. Yugi's head was thrown into the ground so many times he lost count but the punches were aimed at his chest instead of his face, almost as if Yami was conscious of the bruises that would appear had he aimed higher.

But all the while, his face looked confused. It was hidden rather well, but it was there. In the corner of his eyes, at the outer most reaches of his dark red irises, shining beneath the mask of rage in his gaze. His punches were not hard and Yugi took them easily, not bothering to fight back because he neither wanted to hurt Yami nor did he want to actually participate in something he abhorred so much.

He could fight, but he wouldn't. Not now.

Not here.

Not against Yami.

Not when he looked so confused and lost even with the anger on his face.

He was just scared and confused and he was not even  _trying_ to hurt him. The fist that had busted his nose was no longer there, replaced by simple halfhearted slugs to his shoulders and chest, a few of them even missing in all the chaos that must have been swirling around the red-eyed boy's mind.

"They're going to disown me."

It was so quiet that Yugi barely caught it but when he looked at him, he could see the heartbreak that literally crossed his face, the way his body seemed to draw in on itself as he looked at the ground next to Yugi's head, blinking a few times and then shaking his head.

"They're going to disown me…"

Yugi took the opportunity that was presented to him. Gently, neither wanting to scare or hurt him, he pushed Yami off of him; the taller teen barely seemed to notice as he slipped out from under him, his eyes staring vacantly at the floor.

"My parents…are going to disown me…because of you."

Yugi blinked wide eyes when Yami slowly turned his head and looked at him, tilting it slightly to the side, his eyes wide and full of despair that made him flinch and recoil just before the taller teen slowly, almost mechanically, drew himself to his feet, the movement still fluid despite the way he looked broken doing it, and then turned and trudged out the door, not even bothering to slam it behind him like someone else would have.

In the wake of it all, however, he was still so utterly confused. Was Yami homophobic? Because that seemed  _really_ extremely hypocritical considering that it was  _him_ he was shacking up with.

Then again, maybe Yugi was the gay one? He seemed open to it, after all, and he was pretty sure that no straight male could  _ever_ say that about themselves. And if he  _was_ gay, then did that mean that maybe he somehow influenced Yami and Yami was really straight?

And then he was laughing like a hyena.

That was fucking ridiculous.

And one of the most entertaining thoughts he had had in years.

Homosexuality wasn't some kind of disease and you couldn't  _make_ someone gay. It was in their genes or it wasn't. It was that fucking simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	7. Infatuation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon)  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemons, don't read past the statement "Do the world a goddamned favor and shut it, will you?" and continue to the second part. The second lemon starts at "My...my grandpa. He had a heart attach two days ago...". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to highlight the part where the second lemon begins.  
> Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...

Chapter VII: Infatuation

"There is nothing wrong with being gay."

Yugi was unsure of why exactly he was arguing this position because he was pretty sure that if he had a crush on Tea for years like that, then certainly, by all means, he was not gay. But Yami, on the other hand, had never shown interest in anyone, even the hot blonde Mana that he was already hanging around or even  _Mai_  who Joey dubbed the hottest girl in existence who they had all seen him personally hanging out with one night at the theater when they went as a group to reduce ticket cost—of course, upon seeing her, Joey had announced that they would follow the two of them, especially when Tristan asked out loud if it was a date after spotting Mai grab Yami's hand, and all of them had been forced to watch Mai and Yami sitting in the back rows laughing and messing around and occasionally throwing candy at other customers; it was by all means, a date by the looks of it, but when Yami suddenly turned around and smirked at Joey out of nowhere—they had thought they had done a good job of hiding, but of course, with Joey grumbling like he was, that really wasn't an option—as Mai left for the restroom, he had said they came as friends and then laughed his ass off when Tristan made a scene about having wasted ten dollars stalking a couple that wasn't even a couple—so maybe he really  _was_ gay.

Because, the only person he had shown interest in, at all, was Yugi.

And Yugi was still male.

He had the body parts to prove it.

"I am not  _gay_!" Yami spat for the millionth time that day.

"You know, the sooner you admit it, the sooner you can come to terms with it."

He hadn't meant to make it come out in a singsong voice, but of course it did.

Yami raised his head and fixed him a stare that a wolf would give a sheep, red eyes boring into his and rendering him completely paralyzed.

"You understand nothing, Yugi."

"You're right. I  _don't_ understand. I don't understand how the fuck you can react to something so  _normal_ as if it was the end of the world."

Yugi could almost  _see_ the words  _They're going to disown me_ behind his sharp red eyes.

"And what the fuck does that even  _mean_?" he cried in desperation, throwing his hands up. "Your parents aren't going to disown you for something so stupid!"

"You. Understand.  _Nothing_."

"I already admitted that. Please, say something  _different_  for once, Yami."

For a moment he was silent and then finally, under his breath, "I fucking hate you. It's your fault. They're going to disown me all because of you."

"Hate me all you want, sweet cheeks, but it doesn't matter. Now, how the fuck is this  _my_ fault? I didn't make you gay, Yami. In fact, you're born with it, so if it's anyone's fault, it's your parents'."

" _Shut the fuck up_!"

Yugi took a quick step back when Yami stood up, glowering and spitting, "You don't understand anything, so you have no right to fucking open your mouth. Do the world a goddamned favor and shut it, would you?"

For a long minute neither of them spoke and Yami took a seat on the armrest again. Yugi, on the other hand, suddenly lunged.

The taller boy's head snapped towards him, startled by the sudden move, but then melted into the familiarity that the school "bad boy" brought with him.

Regardless, Yami still was not really sure how it happened. One second they were arguing and then the next Yugi's tongue, his sinfully delicious tongue, was in his mouth, stroking and moving against his; he went over the armrest with Yugi between his legs and he was terrified but he refused to let it control him. Instead when Yugi started pulling at his clothes, he hissed something rather vague about not getting naked to which Yugi accommodated him.

His pants were unzipped, unbuttoned, pulled down, and Yugi was pressed into him, his erection making him hiss as it was exposed to the cold air of the apartment. Lips pressed against his and in his confusion he gripped at Yugi's jacket, unable to push him away even when Yugi's finger entered him; he squirmed and the finger stopped for a moment, highly uncomfortable and anything but painful.

His stomach exploded with fear, fear of what Yugi was doing, of the possibilities, of what it meant to actually want this to happen, of handing the control over when he was always in control since arriving in Japan. And did it make him any less of a person if he did this? Surely not if Yugi could do it for him and come away just as he always was.

Suddenly Yugi was inside of him and he was big, filling him completely, making him stretch in ways Yami had never really given much thought to. He was still so confused. How had he ended up like this?

He had never been interested in anyone because of his family and now he was fucking and being fucked by another male. What the hell had happened to him?

His fingers dug into Yugi's shoulders, confused and scared and making Yugi's face twist into a grimace of pain.

Their position wasn't the best. Yami was bent backwards over the armrest and Yugi was standing, leaning over, inside of him, on top of him, above him. And the only thing Yami could think of was why this was happening. Where had he gone wrong? And why was  _he_  wrong? What was wrong  _with_ him?

Yugi finally started moving and if Yami had not been so focused on the terrors that were taking up space in his mind, he would felt the pleasure that Yugi had the times Yami had taken him. Instead of mewling with each time Yugi hit his prostate—and Yugi  _knew_ he was hitting it because he could feel it despite its small size—Yami was sinking his nails further into his skin and he was becoming more terrified in expression.

Maybe it made Yugi disgusting and sadistic but he didn't stop. And finally, after twenty minutes, Yami seemed to relax against him rather suddenly, as if his fears had very spontaneously fallen away, and his mouth opened in moans and mewls of pleasure, his eyes closed and his grip on his shoulders lightening to a more bearable pressure.

Yugi would have given anything to see inside Yami's head at that moment. Because he was obviously braving whatever fear he felt because there was no way it was gone, not when his nails would occasionally sink into his skin again, his sounds would occasionally stop completely for minutes at a time, and his eyes would open with a terrified, confused and hurt expression that made his heart wrench.

And yet he didn't stop, because for whatever reason, this also seemed to relax Yami for small intervals of time and though he knew he would not be able to make him reach orgasm, it was comforting to know that he wasn't hurting him.

Yami was breathless, tired, panting, when Yugi finally came inside of him, catching himself against the cushions next to Yami's body as the red-eyed boy opened his eyes in confusion at the lack of movement. Yugi waited a minute and then pulled out of him and Yami continued staring in confusion, looking completely and utterly lost now; for a moment he didn't move but then he was suddenly pulling his pants up, scrambling to get dressed again, his movements wild and scattered and causing him to fall off the couch rather painfully. Yugi went to help him up but Yami was already on his feet and bolting from the house, leaving him alone to stare after him.

Did that constitute as rape?

Yugi debated this for a long time. Yami had not said no but he had not said yes either. He had not pushed him away and had pulled him closer, in fact. He had let him kiss him and maybe he had been too lost in his thoughts at the time to notice what was going on, but he hadn't panicked or begged him to stop.

It was rather apparent Yami had been having a war going on in his head, unable to focus on what was happening to and around him.

Yugi leaned against the couch for a moment. Yami had softened every single time he had lost himself in his head. He wanted to ask him if he was okay, wanted to follow him and see if it was him he had run from so fast, but the thoughts died away in his head to be replaced by another train entirely different.

Maybe he was bisexual, not gay. Because he had never liked a guy before Yami and he had been as close to in love with Tea as he could have been for three years straight. So maybe he was bisexual, not gay. Maybe that meant the same for Yami too?

But then…again, came the thought that perhaps Yami was gay. Because he had been asexual as far as Yugi was concerned. No interest was shown in others around him. No females, no males. No one had caught those dark red eyes. And after Mokuba was put in the hospital—Yugi should really ask about that some time—Yami had come to him and fucked him and then, even sober, he did not stop it at all.

And every single time it happened he had the opportunity. All it took was pushing him away.

And yet, Yami had never made the move to do so.

And neither had Yugi, because Yugi had liked it. So, if Yugi was right, Yami's reason was the exact same and that meant that he was interested in males. Which meant he was gay because otherwise he would have responded to Tea like he responded to Yugi—erections, make out sessions, bodies brushing together and not hesitating in their wants.

But no, Yami had run off because he couldn't  _get_ an erection. Which meant that he was not interested in girls.

Which meant, in all respects, he had to be gay.

…Right?

Or maybe he just didn't hit it off with Tea. Maybe he had the hots for another girl. Maybe Mana if not Mai, but then, in a weird freaky kind of way, the two of them looked alike—long blonde hair, Mana's goldenrod like Yugi's bangs and Mai platinum, kind of semi-revealing clothing, both with bright eyes that were also dark at the same time—so maybe that didn't work either.

Yugi frowned in puzzlement.

Perhaps…Yami was just gay.

* * *

Yami got to the hospital ten minutes later than expected. Because, before he could even get there, he had thrown up all over the sidewalk like some kind of drunk person, staggered a few feet, and then had fled to his house to clean his mouth out before taking off to Domino City Central Hospital.

So when he got there, Seto, Bakura and Malik were all standing around and talking about stupid things; as soon as the blond of the group spotted him all three pairs of eyes—dark coffee brown that turned nearly black when angered, ice blue that blazed with fire, and a pair of lavender eyes with nearly no pupils—turned and stared.

He forced himself into a jog despite the way his legs protested, the way his stomach screamed for him to move slower, and the way his throat seemed to burn with the action; all three pairs of eyes traveled up and down his form for a long moment but none of them mentioned the small limp he had obtained. Not yet, anyways, but he knew it would not go unmentioned later on.

"How is he?"

He was breathless and it earned three matching smirks that varied in degree, Seto's small and barely noticeable, Malik's semi-wide and Bakura's wide as the Cheshire cat's.

"Oh, he's fine," the brown-eyed spiky-silver-haired pale-skinned boy stated, chuckling softly as he looked his shorter cousin over.

Yami felt strange with that pair of eyes scrutinizing him but that always happened anyways; it was hard not to feel strange with those dark brown eyes watching you. He had grown accustomed to it anyways, not that he was really willing to admit it took him a year to do so.

"They're keeping him here for a few more weeks," the tall brunet explained, that smirk on his face never leaving.

Okay, was the limp  _that_ noticeable?

God, now he almost wished he had gotten shit-faced to deal with them.

"Observation and all that," Malik supplied.

Yami tilted his head. "How's his leg?"

"It's okay. Doctor said he might never be able to run properly."

"So nothing's really changed."

Bakura had no shame and it was what made Yami snicker while Malik shook his head with a wider smirk and Seto shot him a sharp but amused look. It was true, however; Mokuba was really bad at running. No one really had an explanation for it, but he kind of leaned forward more than he kept himself straight and sometimes when he ran he couldn't keep in one line.

The running gag of the family was to mimic his run.

Yami had never really done it because Bakura and Malik were the only two who really pointed it out and teased him for it, but he had joked about it more than once with the others.

Even Seto had laughed about it more than once already.

"But the surgery worked?"

"Yeah. He just…can't ever really get on a plane anymore."

The others all fell silent, the laughter that had been there moments before immediately gone. Mokuba had been hit and stuck in a coma for two months now, officially on his third. His leg had been mangled and torn up and the doctors had said he was barely even alive when they got him, that it was a miracle that he had even survived as long as he had considering all the factors of the accident—a drunk driver skidded on black ice left behind by an early spring rain in which the rain had frozen overnight when the temperatures dropped rather drastically, hit him and got knocked out from the impact with the wheel, car was totaled, Mokuba was hypothermic by that point, most of his blood was gone, and he was barely breathing—and that he might never wake from the coma, especially when Seto insisted that they not amputate his leg, that they tried to save it.

Yami looked away from them because none of them were really looking at him anymore and hesitantly peeked into the room where his younger cousin lay under snow white sheets with a pillow behind his head and the monitors attached to his body. His eyes immediately flicked away again.

"He was only awake for a few minutes," Bakura muttered, glancing at him. "He asked for you but…"

"I missed it," he supplied, nodding. "I…Things got a little out of hand."

None of them really commented for a moment, neither accepting nor discouraging Yami's silence on the matter.

"So, how about that limp you got there?"

Oh fucking Ra…

"What's up with that?"

Was it a crime if you gouged your cousin's eyes out?

Yami nearly convinced himself that it wasn't because Bakura would be in a hospital at the time it happened and that would be the logical place to do it, where there would be immediate attention towards his wound, but then shook it all off when he felt all three of them staring at him pointedly.

"Doesn't look like you're in pain," Malik hinted, snickering softly.

"Yes, please explain it," Seto muttered, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You're the ones who always say you have skills," Yami snapped, bristling, "so why don't you tell me?"

All three of them went wide-eyed and then mouths dropped open—two of them, the psychos who stared in pure shock for a minute before cracking up and nearly falling over each other—while Yami ducked his head and glared at the ground.

He couldn't have just said he was stiff? Oh,  _no_ , he just  _had_ to blurt out that he took it up the ass in not so many words.

"Holy shit, no way," Bakura cracked up. "Who was it?"

"Shut up," Yami spat, not looking up. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't mean anything."

"Dude, you're in so much trouble," Malik argued, shaking his head and seeming to have sobered up from his laughter, blinking wide eyes as he looked at him. "Your parents…"

"You think I don't know that?" When he raised his head all three of them flinched openly. "I am well fucking aware of that, Malik. But is it that much of a surprise? I fuck up all the goddamned time."

"What?" his silver-haired cousin barked, scowling and shaking his head. "Don't even start with that."

"I didn't even make it to see my eight-year-old cousin when he first woke up from a three month coma," Yami spat, shaking his head. "You can't argue that I  _didn't_  just fuck up."

All three of them fell silent for a moment.

"It doesn't matter that you missed it. The point is that he woke up," Seto argued after the silence became too thick for any of them to really think straight. "Besides, you can see him whenever you want after he comes home."

Yami rolled his eyes. "It's not the same."

None of them argued with that.

"Who was it?" Malik asked, his voice quiet and nonjudgmental and purely curious.

He brought his right thumbnail to his mouth and chewed with his bottom teeth for a moment, wondering what he should say; the others watched him closely, curiously, for a long moment.

"Yugi Motou."

For a moment none of them answered and then all three of them were cracking up.

"The  _shrimp_?" Bakura howled.

"The sex slave?" Malik snickered.

"The smallest boy in your school?" Seto laughed.

He rolled his eyes and looked over the railing. He could see a million doctors and nurses and people walking around on the ground floor beneath them, some stopping to talk while others scurried around. It was not busy today—thankfully, Yami supposed—and so most of them were not running. There was a select few who were racing around but it seemed more like their own patients needed them rather than anything worthwhile.

He strode towards the railing, grabbing at the white metal and staring harder when he spotted a nurse that he recognized. His head tilted to the side. No, she wasn't a nurse. She was volunteering—dear Ra, was that Vivian Wong?

His eyes stretched to the size of saucers. Holy fuck.

He didn't know her personally and he didn't really know the dress code of the hospital, but he was pretty sure that breasts were not supposed to be exposed that much. He shook his head slightly. What the fuck?

When was the last time that he had interacted with the brunette?

He could not recall a single instance, actually.

No, he did not know her at all. But he did know Mai and Mai was the brunette's best friend so she had mentioned her a few times.

He knew her name.

He knew her face.

From cheerleading.

From the one game that he went with Bakura and Malik to attend.

From the occasional mentioning of her name between him and Mai when they spoke of their days before his history class with Yugi began each day.

From her sitting nearby in his history class though they had never held a conversation.

Bakura whistled softly, a catcall that would never reach her. "Shit, nice boobs."

"They're called breasts," Yami muttered.

His cousin made a scoffing noise. "Don't get technical on me, Yami."

"Who the hell calls them that anyways?" Malik snickered, coming to his other side and purring softly, the noise making the air seem to part with amusement. "No one calls them that anymore."

Yami pulled away from the railing, turned and walked a couple of feet, started in on his nail again, thinking hard about what he should say.

"Who knew our little cousin had it in him to be a peeping tom?"

"I was doing nothing of the sort!" he spat viciously, spinning on him. "I thought I recognized her and I did."

Bakura and Malik suddenly swapped looks and then turned to him with a confused expression shared between them that made Yami stop short and stare while Seto gave them completely silent regards from a guarded expression.

"Wait, wasn't that Tea chick telling Yugi about how you finger-fucked her at school the other day?" the silver-haired boy asked slowly, cautiously, narrowing his eyes and glancing at Malik sideways before turning back; the blond nodded once and stared at him for an explanation.

"For fuck's sake,  _you're_ the slut?" Seto cried, shaking his head. "I was expecting it from those two, but  _you_?"

Yami turned crimson and ducked his head while his cousins roared with laughter and gave high-fives, snickering and watching him with delighted expressions. "I…I…" he started, voice coming out strained and weak before blinking wide eyes and groaning. "Yugi started asking if I was gay, but I'm not—I mean, I can't be—so then I decided to prove it and Tea always had this massive crush on me so I just…"

"Damn it," the brunet growled while Bakura and Malik went slack-jawed once more, eyes nearly popping out of their heads as they stared at him.

"You used her?" Bakura asked.

"Who knew you had it in you?"

"Stop saying that!" he snarled, spinning on the blond. "Stop fucking saying that."

"You guys are stressing him out. Knock it off."

Neither of them really gave a shit what Seto had to say, because that was how it normally went anyways. The taller brunet was the only one who could keep them in line but only after he convinced them why to  _not_  do what they planned to. Now, however, they only stopped because of the distress in Yami's eyes.

Contrary to popular belief, the two of them were not malicious. When they got into fights with someone at school, they kicked ass because that was how they got their frustrations out, but they would never hurt one of their cousins.

So, they both fell silent while Yami went back to chewing on his thumbnail and Seto went back to looking at them silently, taking in information but not bothering with contribution.

"Your parents…"

"I know. I know about my parents. They  _are_  mine, after all."

For a long minute none of them spoke and then both of them were looking at their older cousin who was watching the youngest start pacing slowly towards the window of his brother's room and then back to the railing before stopping and leaning forward to watch something downstairs.

The three of them joined him after a moment, finding that someone had brought in an elderly man on a gurney. They were all talking loudly and saying something, some people rushing forward while others were calling down the hallways.

Yami tracked their movements without so much as a pause, but the man on the gurney…he looked almost familiar.

And he shouldn't have.

Yet he recognized his face, not his name.

"Holy fuck—is that the shrimp?"

Yami shot a look towards Malik and then tried to follow his eyes before his own gaze grew twice its size; sure enough there was Yugi, talking to one of the paramedics while a girl with long blonde hair pulled in pigtails holding a stuffed brown bear was at his side with wide eyes, the glasses on her face doing nothing but accentuating the large size of them. She looked like she might be twelve but the clothes she wore said something completely different—fishnet stockings, black Converses shoes with skulls, a black and red pleated plaid skirt, a tight black tank top under a small jean jacket that barely covered her under-developed chest with the buttons that were actually in use, long black half-sleeves on her arms, and a choker-like necklace with a small sapphire gemstone in the middle just over the indent of her collarbone.

"Who the fuck is she?" Bakura muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Why the fuck haven't I ever seen her before?"

"Is she holding his hand? She's holding his hand!"

"Holy shit—Yugi fucked you up the ass but he's got a girlfriend!"

"Maybe you guys can have a threesome!"

"Yugi is a pedophile! She's still a little girl!"

"Knock it off!"

The snarl was low and cold but it drew the attention of several others down the hall and around them. Bakura and Malik gave him slightly shocked looks while Seto smirked and snickered at their expressions and Yami rolled his eyes while leaning against the railing more fully.

"Jealous much?" his silver-haired cousin snickered.

"I wonder if Ra will punish me if I kill you."

"That's fucked up," Malik muttered.

Yami rolled his eyes with a soft groan, putting his forehead against the railing and shaking his head. Why was he related to these two idiots anyways? Some people were just not supposed to reproduce and apparently his mother's sister and her husband fell under that category.

"Okay, fun aside, what are you going to do about your parents?" Bakura asked, leaning against the railing and not taking his eyes off of the two figures below; Yugi was talking to the blonde girl now, saying something and gesturing slightly. The girl had massive tears streaming down her face and Yugi was obviously trying to comfort her.

"I don't know." His voice was muffled from his position but the others understood what he said. He rubbed his hot skin against the cool metal, unsure of why he felt so feverish. It had started since he had arrived at the hospital but now his skin was prickling beneath his shirt and he felt almost sick with the sensation. "I just…fuck, I don't know."

"Well, obviously you can't tell them," Malik muttered, sighing and running a hand through his spiky blond hair; neither Yami nor Bakura sneered "You think?" like he had expected.

"She just kissed him."

Yami didn't open his eyes for a long moment and when he finally did, his eyes drifted across the tile flooring to take in the two once more; Yugi barely stood at the same size as her, or maybe it was she who barely stood at the same size of him. Either way, they were small in size, facing each other, talking quietly. The teddy bear was getting the stuffing squeezed out of it. The girl was sobbing her heart out. Yugi was trying to comfort her but seemed a little lost on how to do so even from this far away. They looked like the perfect couple. Creamy milky skin tones, flawless semi-heart-shaped faces, standing at the same size, wide eyes, long lashes, even the fashion sense…

"They probably are dating," Yami observed, shrugging and turning to them, rubbing his cheek against the railing as he took in their expressions; Bakura stared with narrowed eyes, no real emotion but silent judgment across his face and Malik was leaning forward a little more, obviously interested by the sudden appearance of the girl.

"Why have we never seen them before though?" Malik asked.

"Who knows? Does it matter?"

Both of them shot him incredulous looks, Bakura's hardened and dark while Malik grimaced before they suddenly looked back at the two again.

"I have to live with them until I get married," Yami said softly, turning his head and laying his forehead against the railing again, wishing he could absorb the cool sensation of the metal into his skin and chill his heated flesh. "I'll never escape them. I'll never make it out of there without being disowned."

"Marriage?" Seto asked, startled.

Yami had a moment where he forgot that Seto was not completely aware of all the things in their family customs as his parents had died when he turned twelve and he had been living off their inheritance, making a name for himself in Domino City for the last five years as he now owned his own corporation, Kaiba Corp.

"Yeah, it's a custom," Bakura supplied for him, leaning forward a little more and narrowing his eyes further; he recognized the girl from somewhere but he couldn't remember for the life of him who the fuck she was. "Unless you are disowned, you live with your family until you are married."

"What the fuck?" the brunet scoffed.

He and Mokuba's parents had not enforced that custom at all. In fact, Yami's parents were technically the only one who followed that custom anymore. Both Bakura and Malik's parents had dismissed that altogether.

But considering the circumstances of his own family, Yami actually  _could_ understand why it was seemingly so important to his parents. Even if he didn't agree, he  _did_ understand. Even if he  _hated_ it, he understood. It made a difference—a small one, but still a difference.

"But fuck, if they disown me, I will have nothing," Yami murmured. "My name is going to be slandered and dragged through the mud, my house is going to be taken out from under me, I'm going to be so screwed over."

"So get emancipated."

Yami jerked and his head snapped around, confused for a moment before his eyes stretched wide and he blinked several times; emancipation. Why had he not thought of that?

He cringed. "No." He turned away and swallowed hard. "I can't do that either. The courts would get involved. It would be just another massive scandal. My parents would be ridiculed. Besides, I'm not even seventeen yet. Plus, it will take forever to process and what am I to do if I  _do_ win? I have no job so doing so would be a waste of money I don't have and time that could be better used just keeping my grades up. When it blows over…I can go home again."

Yugi looked up at that moment. At first his expression was confused and slightly cold, annoyed by all means, but when his eyes found Yami's, they stretched wide in surprise before blinking several times.

"Yugi!" the girl beside him said, confused, looking up and glancing at them and back, annoyed that someone else had caught  _her_ Yugi's attention.

"Hmm?" he muttered halfheartedly, not looking away.

"Ooh, a staring contest," Bakura chuckled darkly.

Yami chuckled once and shook his head. "You're so stupid."

"Shut up. I need to stare the bitch down."

"Which one?" Malik asked.

"And now I understand why my humor is so fucked up."

Both of his cousins started laughing at his comment, looking at him and drawing his attention away so that he could smirk at them before pushing away from the railing and turning to Seto.

"I can't get emancipated."

* * *

"Hey…"

Yami looked up after a moment, blinking as he put his pencil down; across from him, Mana and Mahado stared at the newcomer with widened eyes.

"What's up?"

Yugi glanced over his shoulder at his friends who were practically gawking, and then turned back, muttering, "My house after school? I can't make it to the library. I have things I have to do."

The red eyes blinked once and then he nodded. "Uh, yeah, sure, I guess," he answered, furrowing his brows slightly; Yugi looked dejected. His posture was off. His hands were in his pockets. His eyes had small bags beneath them. His hair looked more disarrayed than usual. He was staring at just beneath his eyes, towards his eyelashes rather than his gaze, and his expression seemed to scream defeat.

Yami would have asked but he did not wish to be rude, nor did he want to make Yugi stay over there longer than he had to. But the dejected look made his stomach twist and he honestly had to wonder what was wrong even if he did not force the words from his mouth.

"Great," he muttered, turning on his heel and walking off.

Mana and Mahado looked at him immediately as he watched his departure from the corner of his eye before turning back; the two stared expectantly but he honestly had nothing to tell them.

Yami had not seen Yugi in three days—not since Friday at the hospital, in which he had left through the back exit so that they would not cross paths and Yugi was not there on Monday—so his sudden appearance, especially after he missed the first half of the day, was rather surprising.

His request even more so.

Yami tried to fight off the chill of fear that swept through him for the smaller boy but could not push it away and instead felt it lingering just beneath his skin even as his mind told him that everything was okay.

But obviously it wasn't.

Yugi's demeanor was off. His entire body language was completely opposite of what it should have been. It was sad, broken, like his will had been stripped from him, and he had no idea what the hell caused it.

"Well, that was definitely strange," Mana murmured.

Her twin nodded his consent towards her comment and watched Yami closely for a moment. "How far are you two in your project?"

For a moment Yami wondered if this was some passive-aggressive dig at his relationship with Yugi, but realized quickly that it was merely his paranoia talking. But Ra, what was he going to do?

He wasn't about to let Mahado see how rattled his question had left him, especially not with the way Mana was now watching him as well, both twins terribly curious but also slightly concerned by something that they must have seen on his face in that single moment of his mask slipping.

"Not far enough. We might even be behind the rest of the class, honestly. We haven't gotten together in over four days now."

"Don't stress about it," the mauve-eyed boy advised, probably trying to ease some of his discomfort. "You still have a long time to finish it up. Besides, you two are really smart, so I have no doubt that you'll finish it before it's even due."

Yami thought it over for a long moment and then finally nodded before grabbing his tray and dumping it in the trash; yeah, they would get it done before it was due.

Of course they would. Why wouldn't they?

He did not even bother with discretion when he looked over his shoulder at the smaller boy.

He sat with the others but while they openly talked, he was merely listening, occasionally saying something before watching them argue some more; when he looked over, Yami mouthed "You okay?" to which he shrugged and waved him off dismissively.

Normally that would have provoked his ire but this time Yami just let it happen, taking his seat again and watching the twins as they started to mess around with their food and, as per usual, began to make the better image with it.

The tradition had started in ninth grade in which Yami had commented that his food looked oddly like a lizard in shape and Mana had decided hat she was going to make a dog and Mahado said he could make one better. Now, every day, after they finished eating what they actually  _wanted_  off their trays, they would make images in their food and Yami would be the judge of who made the better one. Both of them were pretty talented though, and Yami often ended up pissing them off—playfully, because neither of them took it seriously—with his indecisiveness.

He met Yugi at the gate but was surprised when the other four tagged along with him only to have him snarl, "Well? What the fuck are you doing? Go!" and see them swap looks before walking off without him. Yugi glared after them the entire time and then stalked past him, accidentally ramming shoulders with him and giving a sharp, "Sorry" before ignoring him the rest of the way.

Yami did not let this deter him from what was needed to be done. Instead he stayed quiet and walked with him as if he had not just snapped at both his friends and him. Instead he let his eyes travel towards the various buildings they walked by, not really paying attention but just letting his eyes linger on things without focus.

Yugi threw the door open and the bell on the door nearly fell off but the smaller teen merely glanced at him and waved him inside; upon entering everything about the air seemed to change.

There was no longer any anger to the smaller boy who seemed to have withdrawn into himself out of nowhere, frowning and flipping the sign to Open and then wandering over to the counter, Yami a step behind him as he took a seat and pulled his binder out to start working on their project again.

Yugi looked just as dejected as he did when he had first seen him. There was no anger left in him.

But he did not ask if he was okay.

Because he wasn't sure if he even wanted to know the answer.

So instead, he settled for, "Was that blonde girl your girlfriend?"

It was effective in drawing Yugi's attention to him, wide-eyed and confused before a small smirk made its way across his face, snickering, "Why? Are you jealous?"

"Hardly," he replied, rolling his eyes. And he wasn't, because there was not a single emotion that went through him with that statement—not denial, not anger, not sorrow. Nothing. Because that was what this thing between them meant to either of them. Nothing.

"No, she's not my girlfriend. She's a family friend."

"Oh. You guys seemed really close."

Yugi blinked once and then shrugged a little, flipping his notebook open. "She has a crush on me," he said dismissively. "But she's only fourteen."

"That doesn't mean anything…"

"Oh, so you're one of those. 'Age is only a number'," he sneered, his voice coming out dark and sharp and furious; Yami blinked once, wide-eyed, and then slowly realized that Yugi's ire was not directed towards him but something he was thinking of.

"No, I just…she's a freshman, but she looks twelve."

"People mistake me for twelve."

"People mistake me for fourteen."

Both of them stared for a long moment and then looked away.

"I don't like her that way."

"Does she know that?"

"She should. I haven't given her any signals that I like her."

Yami frowned slightly and looked at the glass counter. They hadn't given each other any signals either, but they still ended up fucking for whatever reason. He shook the thought off, grabbing his research material and sliding it over to him.

"So those are the articles that I printed out for us to go through."

"I thought you wanted to do the research by yourself."

"Yes, I did. And that is the result." He pointed with his pencil and then used his eraser to slide it over to him. "What I meant is for you to go through it and see what you would like to put on the slides."

"I really don't like this arrangement."

Yami blinked and allowed his face to twist into a frown. "Why not?"

"Because it…I don't know. I just don't."

The taller teen didn't do the usual and comment on how that was stupid and instead just stared down at the papers for a moment, pursing his lips and then tilting his head before drumming his fingers on the counter. "Would you rather it be like last time?"

"Truthfully? Yes. It was easier. And less time consuming."

But it required them around each other.

Neither spoke this thought but it was definitely there between them, lingering in the air.

"I guess we could do that. I mean…yeah, okay. But if we do, can we meet up at my house next time? I have some things I need to do for the next week or two and if we're going to do this, it would be better if we did so there."

Yugi studied him for a long two minutes and Yami gave him a single expressionless look that showed nothing and finally the smaller boy turned away and sighed, "Yeah, sure, I guess we can. Whatever."

For a long few minutes they did nothing but sit there, thinking, occasionally glancing at the work that they should be doing but too caught up in their heads to bother with it.

"You haven't asked about Tea."

Yami cringed beside him and the action drew his attention, made him turn his head and stare openly.

"I…wasn't aware I was expected to."

"I thought that was common courtesy. I mean, you finger-fucked her, so…"

"I can't understand why I did that."

For a moment Yugi didn't answer and then he narrowed his eyes, his gaze flashing with suspicion. "So it wasn't to get back at me?"

Yami blinked and stared. "Get back at you? Why would I…?" He shook his head in confusion. "I have no need to get back at you. You haven't done anything wrong."

"No? You don't think so?"

The red eyes were confused. "Why would I think so?"

"I…because I…Well, you freaked the fuck out about me asking if you were gay and I thought you were mad, so…"

"I wasn't…I'm not…Can we get one thing straight right now?"

Yugi blinked.

"I am not gay. Nor will I ever  _be_ gay."

He could have asked "Then why didn't you get a boner?" but instead slowly nodded his head, not wanting to fight. "All right."

"But no, I was not mad at you. I was…I don't know, I just…I don't even know why the fuck I thought that was a good idea in the first place. I mean, my fuck buddy is my finger-fuck-victim's best friend."

Yugi gave him a strange look. Finger-fuck-victim? Well, that was a new way of putting it. "So you didn't just do that because you knew about my crush on her?"

Yami shook his head. "She was a victim of circumstance, nothing more, nothing less."

There it was again. Victim. What the fuck?

"I would never do that just to get back at someone. I just…I wasn't thinking when I did it. It just…happened."

Yugi frowned. Nothing ever really "just happened". There was always some kind of driving force behind it all, something that made it happen the way it did.

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would hurt you. I just…I did it and then I realized how wrong it was…" He paused and could see from Yugi's eyes he was questioning this, seemingly suspicious of whether he ran because of his lack of a boner or because of his guilt. "Please, believe me, I didn't even take into consideration how you would feel with your crush—"

"I don't like her anymore," he interrupted, his voice coming out slightly cold; Yami stared at him, searched his eyes, found no hint of him lying because he wasn't. Yugi really did not have a crush on her anymore. There were no stirrings in his body at the mention of her, her name did not make him smile, her attention did not make him happy. It was a drastic change, but it was true. "But when you came here to yell at me, I figured you did it because you were angry at me for suggesting that you were…I didn't even like her anymore when you did it. I got over her sometime after we fucked. Besides that, I had planned to get you two together, but you really have no interest in her whatsoever, so whatever."

Yami frowned. "I'm sorry, Yugi."

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Besides, it's not me you should apologize to."

"I will not apologize for doing what I did."

Yugi looked at him, startled.

"It takes two people to do this. I may have used her, but she used me as well. She got her first kiss and her first touch and her first sexual experience. She got half of what she wanted. We used each other. It is as simple as that." He shook his head, scowling. "And I was not apologizing for finger-fucking her. I was apologizing because if I was not here, you might have had a chance with her."

He felt his eyes stretch wide in shock and he wanted to argue but he couldn't find it in him to do so; he was too startled by his words, by the conviction in his voice, the coldness of his statement.

Yami turned away and started on his work again.

Yugi stared for a minute and then turned away to look at his work before blinking several times.

"Bakura said she kissed you."

"Huh?" His head snapped towards him, confused. "Who? Tea?"

"The blonde girl." He looked over and raised an eyebrow. "In the hospital."

"I—no. She kissed my cheek. She always does that. It probably looked like that from the angle."

Yami nodded and then shrugged. "It just crossed my mind."

Yugi nodded a little and then bit his lip. "So, if Tea isn't enough to get you hard…who is?"

Yami tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, maybe she wasn't enough for you. She was too…easy or something? Maybe you should try with someone else?"

He looked thoughtful, open to the suggestion, and slowly he nodded. "I'll have to think that over sometime."

For a long two hours they did nothing but work, help the occasional customer, and then Yugi flipped the sign to Closed and led the way upstairs; maybe it shouldn't have surprised him at all, but the moment Yami stepped into the bedroom after him, the canvas bag was dropped to the floor and he was pushed onto the bed with the smaller boy straddling him.

The only difference this time, from all the others, was that Yugi was crying as he kissed him and the salty tears seemed to burn his mouth as his tongue tasted them unconsciously when Yugi turned his face away slightly as if he were trying to draw enough strength to stop himself.

Yami didn't comment and instead leaned forward and licked at his cheek, intrigued by the taste and the way that Yugi opened his eyes and watched him from the corner of his gaze but didn't pull away or try to push him away. They tasted like regular tears, of course, salty and wet, but at the same time they had some kind of special brand of sorrow to them that made them different.

Yugi turned his head towards him when Yami tapped the side of his jaw, surprised when the wet muscle started to lick up the other trail, giggling when he flicked his chin; he blushed at the noise that left his lips, because it was not like any noise he had ever made before, but Yami didn't stop, instead giving him a half-smirk.

And then it was all overwhelming and he was crying harder while Yami looked confused before pulling back and looking at him for a moment, blinking several times before trailing small kisses up his cheek to his lashes and down to his chin and then wiping under his eyes with his thumbs. "Why are you crying?"

For a second or two Yami had a moment where he wondered if Yugi was just overwhelmed by the whole thing with Tea, wondered if maybe he was lying when he said that he felt nothing for her anymore, but then he ducked his head and muttered, his voice so choked and thick that it was barely recognizable.

"My…my grandpa. He had a heart attack two days ago…"

Things clicked in his head.

No, the man from the stretcher was not Solomon Motou, but he was definitely familiar. Either way, Solomon had gotten his heart attack right after. So that might mean that the man was on the expedition with him. Possibly heat stroke induced the heart attack or something or other made it happen because one right after the other was not normal.

It also explained Yugi's absence from school.

It explained the reason why they manned the shop.

It explained his demeanor and his anger towards his friends.

It also explained Yugi's anger when he said "Age is only a number".

His grandfather ignored his age and when he got sick and went to the hospital, Yugi was left alone, had to deal with school and the shop and all of his daily activities without any relief from the stress of it all.

That was why he asked him to his house.

Because he would have someone to help with it all, to help him cope. And now, he wanted an escape from it all because, obviously, the shop, the house, everything was just a reminder of his sick grandfather.

Yami wanted to tell him no, because this would never help him, but at the same time, he had done this very thing to him before. So what if he had gotten plastered first? The point was that he had done this to Yugi before and he would be nothing but a hypocrite if he was to try to deny him this. And Yami  _hated_ hypocrites.

He didn't need another reason to hate himself right now.

He stroked at his ribs with his fingers, gently coaxing him as he slid and squirmed beneath him, backing up to the pillows. He could give him this. It was honestly that simple.

Yugi would go to no one else because there was no one else who would give without expecting something in return.

And Yami understood that so much more than he could ever put into words.

The smaller boy looked surprised for a moment, then grateful.

Yes, it really was that simple.

It was never going to be a permanent solution, but for the moment, it was exactly what they both needed.

Yugi gave him a quick peck on the lips in thanks and then started disrobing him, pulling Yami's school jacket off and then pulling the shirt off in one movement, tossing them both over to the desk chair and licking his lips.

Yami didn't really like the way that Yugi was looking him over, not like they had previously done. They had never really looked at each other. Just got their clothes off, kissed in the meantime, and then fucked.

Now, he got to look him over and his stomach felt strange with the realization. Yugi was actually looking at him, viewing his body, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that. Technically, of course, Yugi had already  _seen_ him naked, but they had never looked each other over like he was doing now.

His stomach twisted and his breathing came out a little strange, different, slightly faster but slower still, caught somewhere between a hyperventilation and slow and even breaths as if he were sleeping. Yugi seemed to suddenly lose interest with his upper body and instead jumped up and started to pull off Yami's shoes, dropping them and then stripping him of his jeans and boxers by tugging them off from the legs and the waistband of his underwear.

The air was too cold for him and he exhaled a hiss of discomfort that made Yugi's eyes flicker towards him for a moment before he started stripping of his own clothes, dropping them at the foot of the bed like they might burn him. When Yugi leaped up onto the bed again, straddling him, the taller teen found himself staring up at the ceiling.

He was not used to giving control in any way, shape or form, and the first time this had happened, bent over the armrest of Yugi's couch, he had been too distracted with his own thoughts to even really know what was going on.

Yugi felt a lot more empowered this time than he had the first time he topped. That time, Yami had been vaguely aware of what was going on, but this time he was acutely aware, definitely not about to sink back into his head anytime soon, and that was liberating. It was different, definitely, but he loved the feel of Yami's skin gliding beneath his fingers when he leaned over him and ran his hands up his chest to his shoulders.

Beneath him, the taller teen shuddered and moaned and his eyes flickered from the ceiling to focus on him completely, confused by the action and searching for answers that Yugi was not about to give him. Instead he leaned forward and their mouths were connected again, Yugi's eyes opening into slits to see that Yami was openly staring even as his mouth worked against his. Okay, so Yami was a little scared. That was fine. It was whatever.

He heard that a lot of tops who bottomed got scared.

It was whatever.

Yugi opened his eyes all the way and regarded the red gaze in front of him, finding that it was blank but confused and void of fear. So that meant Yami was hiding it. Again, whatever.

Fingertips trailed down his neck and to his chest, the appendages touching his nipples. He rolled the pebbled skin between his fingers and Yami went wide-eyed before moaning into his mouth. Yugi smirked mentally and pulled back to take one of them into his mouth, feeling the breath that Yami moaned with and then closing his eyes as fingers grabbed at his shoulders.

But that was only one hand and Yugi was confused about the other as he alternated between his nipples, his movements making Yami moan and arch and squirm beneath him, but his mind still lingered on where his other hand was. It only took a small glance to the left to find that Yami had his right hand digging into the mattress, gripping the sheets until his knuckles turned white.

Yugi was a small bit dissatisfied with this and so went about teasing his chest until finally Yami's grip loosened and he was panting, back still arched. When his fingers finally fell away from the sheet to join his other hand on his shoulder, Yugi smirked in triumph before pulling back some and moving between his legs, tapping his knee to make him open them for him.

It was kind of strange yet extremely exhilarating that Yami complied with him and even knew what he wanted without words. It was so simple and Yugi loved it.

Yami raised his head a little to watch him but Yugi ignored this, rubbing his anus with his knuckles for a few moments before finally inserting his first finger. Yugi didn't miss the way that he flinched slightly and then squirmed, not out of pain, but pure discomfort as he curled his lip back in a small show of his sharp white canine. It took a few minutes but when he relaxed again Yugi went about pumping while Yami opted for calming himself down through small talk, muttering, "You, uh…fuck, wait a second, you're still clean, right?"

Yugi wanted to roll his eyes and snarl at him that he was the only person he had been with but the fear was legitimate as Yugi  _had_ told him that he was not a virgin before their first time and besides, there was that story about him being a sex slave, so it had merit. "Yes."

"Okay."

Yugi put a second finger in, a little surprised when Yami didn't react to it; when he looked up, Yami was still watching him, but he didn't look the slightest bit disturbed this time, instead relaxing without much time between entrance and pumping. When he started scissoring Yami squirmed and his face twisted out of discomfort, but he remained relaxed for the most part.

He looked slightly troubled, though, out of nowhere, and Yugi didn't understand it in the slightest. He couldn't remember if he had done the same with the smaller teen. He didn't think he ever actually had, not with just two fingers. Always with three, though.

Yugi raised an eyebrow but Yami just shook his head slightly at him and Yugi rolled his eyes before slipping in the third digit. Yami gripped at his shoulders hard, his nails scratching his pale skin, not quite painfully, but the sting that lasted told him that he had broken skin.

Well, at least he hadn't done as Yugi had. No, he scraped, he didn't bite into his skin with his nails and dig out flesh when he curled his fingers.

Yami didn't make a noise when he pulled his fingers away, not that he had really expected him to, since apparently the taller teen had completely missed it even when he was sure to thrust his fingers against his prostate the entire time.

He aligned himself and Yami watched him closely as he pressed into him slightly. His nails didn't dig into him until he got an inch in and then the nails started to bite his flesh and he cringed, stopping and waiting until Yami was ready again; unfortunately, Yami picked random moments to tense up out of nowhere. Obviously, he was terrified because he could go another inch and then tense, relax again, and then the next second he would tense again.

Yugi wanted to tell him just to fucking quit it, but decided against it. It was fine.

Besides, Yami didn't  _have_ to do this for him. Not by any means did he  _have_ to do it.

Yami was actually being nice and  _letting_ him do this. Like a gift. A gift born of sympathy or perhaps pity _—_ though he honestly could not see Yami pitying someone because it just didn't seem like something the red-eyed teen would do—but a gift nonetheless.

When he was finally seated, Yami relaxed and looked at him for a moment, seeming almost unsure of what he was supposed to do and Yugi couldn't figure out what that stare he was giving him was for.

The smaller teen decided to just ignore it before leaning forward and pressing his lips against his again, swallowing a very odd moan that sounded half-choked. He felt strange, cold, but he was quickly getting warmer as they continued kissing, Yami finally rolling his hips as a signal for him to move.

Yugi could have been vulgar and pulled his mouth away, said that Yami was tight as all fuck, but he didn't, because that sounded disgusting to him, and because of course he was tight. It was his ass. All asses were tight.

Although, of course, not all people were tight asses.

He groaned at his own thoughts. What the fuck was wrong with him?

He pulled out to the tip and slid back in, feeling Yami sigh softly beneath him rather than seeing it. The exhale into his mouth spoke of mint and chocolate and stress and growing relief. It was strange, but it was great all at once.

Yami kept opening and closing his eyes the entire time and he only knew this because he could feel those eyes boring into his skin for limited intervals of time. Of course, he had no understanding of  _why_ Yami kept doing this, but he didn't bother asking either, instead pulling away and panting for breath.

Yami's ragged breaths ghosted over his face and made him want to purr but instead the taller teen took up the noise, the sound rumbling through him and bathing the air, warming it and making Yugi's skin tingle with it. His nerve endings sparked with delight at the noise and now, he wanted that growl.

Yami mewled when he pressed into his prostate and Yugi smirked but still that wasn't the noise he wanted. He buried his face into his neck and then nipped at the skin, moving faster and making the mewls spill from his mouth, but after a moment, he grew annoyed with the lack of growling. He wanted to hear that noise without the moan before it, to hear him unadulterated and wild.

His teeth sank into his neck and Yami's answer was the thing he sought.

The growl came out loud and clear, vibrated against his skin, and only grew louder when he pressed into his prostate. The noise was animalistic and pure, wild and maddening. Its timbre sent tremors up and down his spine with pleasure.

Oh yes, he definitely loved this sound.

The only problem was that it made him teeter of the edge sooner than he thought. It took him by surprise and his limbs grew too weak to support himself. Yami released against their stomachs but his growling only stopped when Yugi finally pulled his teeth away from his reddened skin.

Yugi pulled out a minute later, when he had caught his breath, and lay on his stomach next to him. Neither of them were tired enough to sleep but their muscles were tired and heavy and after a few minutes of just laying there, Yami reached over, startling him, and pulled him into him before falling asleep rather suddenly.

"It doesn't mean anything," Yami muttered later in the middle of the night. Yugi looked at him as he returned from the bathroom, surprised to see that he was sitting up and watching him closely, almost as if he expected him to pounce; then again, that was probably smart, because in all honesty, it seemed that Yugi was always the one to initiate since their first time when Yami was too drunk to really comprehend what he was even doing.

"I know that," Yugi answered, stretching once and then going over to the bed, laying back down, pulling the covers up, glaring when Yami didn't lay back down beside him, instead opting to stay as he was, twisting his torso partway and staring at him in the darkness only illuminated by the moonlight from the skylight and the yellow of the streetlight on the corner opposite the game shop.

"What  _is_  this though?"

"It's called fucking. It happens sometimes. Would you just fucking lay down?"

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Damn it, Yugi."

The smaller boy huffed and then pulled the blankets up a little more before closing his eyes, yawning, sneering, "What the hell do you want me to say? It's not some fucking life mystery, Yami. It's called chemistry. It happens between people. It's where you want to fuck all the time because it's where your body likes another person's."

Yami gave him an incredulous look that Yugi didn't see.

His voice cut off for a moment and then came out soft, quiet, no longer sneering, but not entirely friendly either. "Yami, seriously, it's nothing. It's…an infatuation, I guess. You fuck me, I fuck you, our bodies like each other. It's really that simple."

The taller boy tilted his head and then raised an eyebrow before nodding and pulling the covers up, lying back down and then looking at him when he realized Yugi was staring at him.

"It's nothing serious."

Yami nodded once.

"I'm not gay."

"Neither am I."

"We're just exploring an infatuation. That simple."

"It's just for fun."

"Exactly."

Yami finally closed his eyes and Yugi settled back for some more much needed sleep. And, of course, he woke first while Yami fled after he handed him another buttered blueberry bagel, the two of them exchanging a simple hello and then goodbye.

A simple infatuation.

Yugi smirked. Funny that he would be infatuated with a geek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	8. Text Message

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has a little homosexual slander (use of word "fag/faggot"—I do NOT support it but it worked for the story so I decided to put it in there).  
> Homosexual Slander: It is in the conversation in the first part of the chapter. I didn't want anyone to be surprised or offended, so yeah...It's not in there often, just once or twice.

Chapter VIII: Text Message

"Yami."

Joey, Tristan and Ushio all looked over at the brunette as she strode towards him; Mana and Mahado stood behind him, eyes widening as Yami looked at her and then turned to them and shook his head. Both of them nodded and then turned and walked off, glancing over their shoulders at him.

He wondered vaguely if they knew what he had done. But he highly doubted it.

"Tea, what—?"

"I don't need you three around. Go away," she snapped at the blond.

Joey looked at her for a moment and then glared at Yami for a minute before leading the other two away with him. The red-eyed teen found it odd that Yugi was not around but dismissed this as Tea stopped in front of him.

"What the fuck was that last week?"

Yami didn't answer, merely leveling her with a stare.

"Well?" she pressed.

"Well what? You got what you wanted. Or most of it, anyways. Let's be honest, shall we? You were using me just like I was using you. I just wanted to get a little relief from all the stress and you wanted me to be your first. We both got half of what we wanted."

"Are you a fag or something?" she spat suddenly.

Yami startled and his eyes stretched wide in shock, opening his mouth once before baring his teeth. "Don't call me that," he snarled back.

"So then you are. Great. That's just great—"

"I am not gay," he snapped coldly. "I gave you what you wanted. Can't you just leave me the fuck alone now?"

"You used me."

"And you used me. There were two of us in this equation."

"You didn't even get a boner."

Yami froze and blinked.

"You made out with me, touched me, fingered me, and you didn't once get a boner. So either you're gay or you're just fucking stupid. Because I am the best thing that could  _ever_  happen to you."

"The best thing that could ever happen for him is if you left him the fuck alone."

Both of them turned towards Yugi as he strode forward. The smaller teen was not even really sure what he was doing, but under all the anger, Yugi could see the fear that was seeping through Yami's system and had come to his rescue.

Which was strange because he never came to anyone's rescue. It never paid off.

"Honestly, Tea, maybe you just aren't his type."

"Funny, coming from you, Yugi," the brunette hissed at him, stepping forward. "You're the one who has been in love with me since pretty much the day we met."

"I was never  _in love_ with you. It was a crush. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why the fuck are you even in our business anyways? This is between me and Yami."

"And now it's between you and me."

"Explain that to me, because you were never in this conversation in the first place."

Yami looked like he was going to be sick as he watched them. Yugi stopped a step away from her and glared spitefully, seeming to fume as his eyes bore into hers; the smaller teen didn't miss that Bakura and Malik had stopped a few feet down the hall at the vending machines and were now openly staring at their cousin who seemed to be frozen in place.

"You're over here bitching about how you're the best thing he could ever have but you're not. You're not the best anything," Yugi spat, shaking his head and glaring. "And don't even  _try_ to make this about my crush on you, okay? Because that hasn't been here for a while. But here's the thing, Tea, Yami doesn't need some puppy dog running after him all the time or some bitch who wants things that she shouldn't. Shit, you think you know so much about him but you don't know anything. You know his name. You know his face. And that's it. That's all you know about him. You never even had a  _basis_ for a relationship with him. Fuck, even  _I_ know that. Shit, I know more about him than you do and you've been in love with the idiot for two years now!"

Bakura and Malik stared in shock for a moment and then looked at their cousin who had paled drastically and looked even sicker than he had moments before; his face was green around the edges, he had a small drop of sweat crawling agonizingly slowly down the side of his face from his temple…

"At least have a crush on someone who actually knows you  _exist_. God, what is with  _girls_? They always hit on the guys who don't even know that they exist. You like Yami, but Yami only ever spoke to you or  _of_ you the day that Joey and Tristan pranked you in PE and in the library when you flirted with him. What did you not get about him  _dismissing_ you? For fuck's sake, I could understand if you were a fucking  _blonde—_ "

"The fuck?" Malik snapped, making all of them look at him for a moment before turning back to the argument at hand.

"—but this is ridiculous. I mean, at least when I was crushing on you, you knew who I was. Maybe I was stuck in the friend-zone, but hell, at least you knew my name. Yami has never given two fucks about you in the first place. But then, you never gave two fucks about me either. So I guess you and I have that much in common."

"Is this some kind of way of trying to make me see that you would be good for me?" Tea asked sharply, rolling her eyes. "Newsflash, Yugi, that is never going to happen."

"I don't want you!" Yugi yelled, shaking his head. "And you're so fucking  _dense_ to think I do! God, Tea, you fucking—you make me want to beat my own head in with a baseball bat, that's how  _stupid_ you are!"

Tea's mouth fell open.

He grabbed at his hair and shook his head, spitting, "You don't understand anything, do you? You thought that when he was  _ignoring_ you, he was playing  _hard to get_! No, he wasn't fucking playing  _hard to get_ ,he was telling you there is  _no chance_. Because there isn't. And there never  _will_ be. I mean,  _honestly,_ Tea!"

Yami couldn't take his eyes off the two in front of him, not even when he saw his cousins coming from his peripheral vision; they stopped a few steps away and watched with wide smirks on their face, obviously terribly amused by the small boy.

"You don't have friends in common. You never had any classes together. You don't have the same intellect level. You flirted with him in front of me when I still liked you. Do you  _really_ think that is attractive to  _anyone_? You come off as a  _slut_ when you do that. It makes you look unfaithful. 'Oh, yeah, I love you, but by the way, I think I'm going to go ahead and flirt with him too, in the meantime, but don't worry, it's all just for fun'. Did you think that was how it worked? No, Tea, if you're going to be with someone, you're not supposed to flirt with someone while someone else is  _clearly_ crushing on you. And, by the way, you shouldn't string people along either. It might just come to  _bite_ "—he chomped his teeth loudly—"you in the ass."

Tea gasped and Yami stared with wide eyes but the other two started snickering behind their hands, struggling not to full out laugh at this.

"Because you know, maybe if you weren't such a bitch all the time, I might have been able to vouch for you, but not now. Instead you string me along like a puppy dog, then go and demand that Yami dates you when really all he wanted was a quick. Fuck." He was smirking and his face twisted cruelly as he added, "You don't meet the criteria because you're a maniacal  _bitch_ who wants, wants, wants, and never gives. What the fuck would you have to offer Yami anyways? What do you have to offer  _anyone,_ Tea? He couldn't even  _fuck_ you without realizing that you're fucking  _crazy_!"

The sound of flesh colliding echoed through the hallway like a shotgun and all of them stared in shock before Tea seethed and snarled, "And you wonder why no one could ever love you" before turning and storming off down the hall to her homeroom.

Yugi didn't do the classic thing of touching his cheek where the handprint was; instead he spun around and pushed Yami who stumbled and hit the ground, staring at him with wide eyes as he snarled, "This is  _your_ fault!" before turning and storming off to his own class.

Bakura and Malik waited until he was gone before they gave in to their laughter, the noise bouncing off the walls as they helped him to his feet. "Holy fuck, that was awesome," the silver-haired teen snickered, shaking his head slightly and wrapping his arm around his shorter cousin's shoulders, chuckling darkly. "Please,  _please_ go finger-fuck someone else. I want to see if it happens again."

Malik howled with laughter again and Yami gave them blank looks before shaking his head slowly and pulling away.

* * *

Yami was seated next to her for the test which was the only reason his mind even went in that strange direction.

The brunette didn't look up except when she thought he couldn't see her but he was always watching from the corner of his eye so he caught her each time; it was safe to say he didn't draw attention to her looking at him because she had not done so with him so instead he let her stare until she was sated of her curiosity and turned away again to take back the task of doing her work.

Now Yami had no attraction to her and he still had yet to interact with her but seeing as she was right next to him at the moment, he honestly didn't try to stop himself from looking.

His red eyes drew in every single bit of her body, not for the sake of imprinting her being in his mind but purely because he honestly couldn't understand why he felt  _nothing_ towards her or any other female.

He would have shaken his head if he wasn't already watching as she started to shift awkwardly in her seat, acutely aware of his blatant staring; he tore his eyes away again and looked at his own test, slightly annoyed with his own thoughts but far from able to turn them off.

One in the back of his subconscious bit particularly hard, drawing his attention to the fact that he had messed up royally and odds were, whatever little thing there was between himself and Yugi was gone.

He wished he could have been relieved but he was far from it.

In fact, the only thing he actually felt was pure, unfiltered dismay.

And he didn't know why.

But he did know that now was definitely the time to see to it to test Yugi's little theory of seeing if another girl would "do it for him" where Tea had failed.

He was far from stupid, so he knew that Vivian would never do so, first because he didn't know her _—_ at all _—_ and second because she looked oddly like Tea did herself. And the thought itself left his stomach twisting and his lip curling back and his blood boiling in his veins because of his own stupid mistake as well as the million and one things that had gone wrong because of that simple,  _terribly_ stupid choice.

No, he had a few select friends of the female variety and if he was honest with himself, only  _one_ of them had ever gotten a reaction out of him aside from deep-rooted friendship.

So, really, he only had one option.

And yes, he dreaded it.

But he also knew she would never turn him away.

He hated himself for his own knowledge of the girl's affection towards him. Because what kind of sick bastard would do these kinds of things?

* * *

Yugi did not encounter Yami again for two weeks. When they were even near each other or in the same room, they always put distance between themselves, taking opposite corners of wherever they were, never once bothering to acknowledge the other.

It was only because the project was due in a month and a half that Yugi even approached him, waiting impatiently for the red-eyed teen to notice he was standing next to him as Mana and Mahado laughed and messed around; all laughter died when they noticed him and Yami looked confused before turning his head and staring at him.

"Library, tomorrow," he spat, turning and walking off before the other teen could get anything in edgewise.

"God, is he  _still_ bitter about that?" Mana said, rolling her eyes and flicking her long hair with the back of her hand like a supermodel.

It was meant to be a joke but Yami couldn't find it in himself to even crack a smile. "Well, yes, of course he is. I mean, I did finger-fuck his crush."

Mahado gave him a small smile even as his sister frowned slightly and gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sure he will get over it soon."

"He doesn't need to  _get over_  it," Yami argued, shaking his head. "I was the one who messed up. I mean, he has every right to be mad at me. But, honestly, I don't understand why he would like her anyways. She treats him like he's her personal pet or something, always admonishing him."

"Maybe Yugi needs that," the other boy said with a small shrug. "You never know. What doesn't work for you could work for him."

"He gets treated like a goddamned slave."

Again he shrugged. "Yami, you and Yugi aren't the same. Maybe he needs that more than he needs someone who would coddle him. And besides, maybe she had the right idea in doing that. Yugi is a wildcard—"

"No one deserves to be treated like dirt!" Yami spat, getting up abruptly. "No one deserves to be treated like that. I don't  _care_ what the fuck someone thinks they need, that is  _never_ it!"

Both of them gawked as the red-eyed teen stormed off and Yugi watched with dark eyes, following his every movement and wondering what the fuck had just happened to make him leave like that. He was pretty sure it wasn't him who made him run because Yami had never left even when he was glaring daggers into his back and wondering why his eyes didn't have laser vision so he could fry him.

* * *

Yugi took one side of the table and Yami took the other. Yugi got two books and Yami got four. Yugi go four books and Yami got eight to outdo him. Yugi got mad and Yami smirked. Yugi threw things at him and Yami glowered. Yami glowered and Yugi smirked. But the rest of the time they ignored each other.

The entire area around them was actually empty; everyone in the library took places in other spots and no one sat near the two of them. Yami found this oddly hilarious. Were they really that scary?

Then again, the air around them seemed to vibrate with tension, angry and bitter tension and their avoidance definitely made sense in all honesty.

Ten minutes before the bell rang, Yugi finally got up and came over to his side, handing him his sheet and snatching his from him before he could object.

But as they looked it over, both of them ended up swapping them back and then looking over the other's shoulder before pulling back and snarling, "You copied what I wrote!" at the same time before glaring furiously.

"Well, great, now we have a copy of the same exact shit," Yami said with a roll of his eyes.

"No shit, moron."

"It's not just my fault. It's yours too. You can't just blame this on  _me_."

"I'll blame it on whoever the fuck I see fit. And right now, you're the only one here."

Yami grabbed one of the books and then held it up. "Blame the authors because they're all bitches who recycled each other's work." The book fell with a resounding boom throughout the library when Yugi smacked it out of his hand. The librarians and several students looked up but couldn't find the source of the noise and instead went back to whatever they were doing.

"Son of a bitch."

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Yami questioned, raising an eyebrow. "And in such an angry  _tone_."

Yugi looked ready to punch him but instead took a deep breath. "You fucking bastard."

"Again, why are you talking to yourself?"

"I am talking to  _you_!" he spat.

"I know who my father is, though," Yami objected, smirking cruelly. "Do  _you_?"

Yugi lunged but then stopped himself at the last second, pulling back and glaring at him fiercely. "I'm not about to get my ass suspended for you," he snapped.

"Surely you don't believe you could take me in a fight," Yami stated, bristling. "I'll break every bone in your body before you can even blink."

Yugi leaned forward and placed his face a mere inch from Yami's and then blinked several times. "Oh, but I don't  _feel_ very broken."

"We're not fighting yet."

"What do you call this exactly?"

"It's called a verbal spat—an argument. You had one with Tea two weeks ago."

Yugi grabbed at the collar of his uniform shirt and bared his teeth when he growled, "Leave her out of this."

"It's not my fault she never liked you." He pulled Yugi's arm away by pressing into the bundle of nerves on his wrist; Yugi snatched his hand away and glared at him before looking at it curiously. "Honestly, I didn't make her crush on me."

"I didn't make you finger-fuck her either and yet you did."

Yami frowned and then narrowed his eyes. "Yugi, we have to put this aside for right now. Our grade depends on it. And like you said, we could have fucked over the first one but not this one. It's forty-five percent of our grade. We don't do it, we don't pass, and we will never recover before second half of the semester starts."

Yugi chewed the inside of his cheek for a long time before closing his eyes and nodding; as much as he hated to admit it, Yami was right. There was no way to save forty-five percent of their grades in only three weeks when the project was turned in and finals started up. "Yeah, I know. When…when do you want to get together for this then?"

"I told you before that I can't go to your house so you would have to come to mine," Yami muttered, drumming his nails against the table and looking up at the ceiling with a small sigh of irritation. "I don't know, after school I guess?"

Yugi groaned. "I have to work at the shop. And then I need to clean up the house because Grandpa is coming home in a week."

"He's still in the hospital?"

"No, but his friend is."

Yami stared for a moment. "The man on the gurney?"

"Yeah, Professor Hawkins. Grandpa has been there since he was discharged." He sighed. "Hawkins will be okay, but Grandpa wants to be there with him for right now."

Yami chewed his cheek for a long time and then closed his eyes and shook his head; Professor Hawkins, another who had been in Egypt, another who would most likely recognize him if they were to ever meet. "Very well. I guess I will go with you to yours." He opened his eyes and then started digging into his pockets before pulling out a single small white touch-screen phone with a small button in the middle and two on the sides, unlocking it and starting to text. Yugi tried to read it but he didn't recognize the symbols that Yami used because they were hardly Japanese.

"What language is that?"

"Arabic."

And then, as the word left his mouth, Yami froze.

Yugi blinked in confusion. Why the fuck did Yami know Arabic? He himself knew Arabic, but that was because his grandpa taught him how to speak it. He could not read or write in Arabic for the life of him.

And yet, because Yami looked so alarmed, Yugi neglected to say anything.

He did, of course, make a note of the information for later use.

Who knew that later would only be fours hours' time?

The two got to the shop where Yugi manned it for two hours before deciding that it was too slow a day to keep it open as they needed to get their work done. When they got up to the living room, both of them took separate sides of the couch and continued working from there, using the coffee table to pass notes between each other as talking seemed to result in tearing each other's head off.

Half the time the things they wrote was what the other was about to record themselves, frustrating them both to no end as they finally scooted into the middle to sit next to each other and be able to see what the other was writing without pushing a paper between them.

His phone went off and Yugi had to admit that he liked the slender little white object. It had a nice simple ringtone to it, like bells sounding and then water rippling and one like fire crackling.

"I'm sorry," Yami muttered, taking it out of his pocket and unlocking it. "My cousins are texting me."

"Who's who?"

"Malik is the bells, Seto is the water and Bakura is the fire. It makes it easier to figure out who the hell is texting me before I read it," he responded, starting to type away. "I honestly hate reading a text thinking that it is from one person only to find out that it is from someone else entirely."

Yugi nodded. He had that same pet peeve.

He looked at him curiously and found that Yami was still rapidly typing in Arabic rather than Japanese, pausing occasionally before adding more words and then sending; it seemed to take forever for him to finally stop texting and look over, but when he did Yugi felt a little sick.

Yami had paled slightly and his eyes looked unfocused, different, shadowed and somewhat glazed over, the color returning to his face after a few moments but his eyes stayed the same and Yugi could see the pupils dilating slowly but surely as they adjusted to the muted light in the room. As they dilated, the haze lifted but that shadow and unfocused expression lingered.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," he said quickly, turning away and starting to write with a sideways glance towards the taller boy who narrowed his eyes slightly before turning back to his own work.

"Hey, uh…why did you put those as their ringtones?"

Yami didn't pause in writing, not looking up. "I…Because, and I know this is going to sound really stupid, but it's their…elements. Like their personalities, you know?"

Yugi nodded and had no doubt that the red eyes caught the movement.

"So Malik is like the wind, Seto is like ice, and Bakura is fire. Obviously, there was nothing that was purely wind so I got this bell chime, and the only ice one was someone breaking ice and it was weird and hurt my ears."

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool."

Yami shot him an incredulous look. "If you say so."

"Well, I do, so ha."

The taller teen stopped short just as Yugi did, both of them staring at each other dubiously.

Had Yugi just messed with him?  _Without_ a sarcastic quip that was supposed to hurt?

For a moment they just stared at each other and then very slowly turned their attentions back to their work.

The atmosphere was no more awkward than it normally was so Yugi really wasn't surprised when it claimed the air and Yami didn't look the least bit surprised either, still going with his half of the project rather diligently.

Thank Ra there was no mention of his look-alike in any of these pages.

Then again, had Yugi never been to a museum before?

Yami wrinkled his nose and furrowed his brows in thought before turning his head and assessing the other boy who looked back after a moment; no, Yugi might have gone to one but he probably didn't stay long. He couldn't really see him being very interested in it in the first place.

History was probably a bore to him.

Something to excel at in class but nothing that he would actively study if he was not pushed to do so.

That was kind of sad but it made so much sense.

"May I have something to drink?"

Yugi's eyes stretched wide. May? Did he really just say  _may_? He blinked a few times and then slowly got up with a small nod, watching as the little white phone went off and he turned his attention to it instead of him.

Yugi had literally never had someone ask him if they  _may_ have something.

It felt awkward to hear and definitely strange in his head.

"Soda, Gatorade or water?"

"Um…what kind of soda?"

Did he imagine it or was Yami hesitating?

"Sprite, Root Beer, and…Orange Fanta."

"Sprite, please."

Yugi snatched the green bottle from the fridge and frowned. Was he really raised to be this polite? It kind of irked him to be on the other end of it, but that was merely because he was unused to it. Others never said such things to him. It was always pretty much a demand and now Yami was respecting him and it was just  _weird_ , especially considering how often they fought.

When he got back to the couch, he found that the other boy had fallen fast asleep on his side, half-curled in the fetal position with his phone in his hand, threatening to fall out of his grip.

Kami, how long had he been in the kitchen?

He furrowed his brows.

That explained why Yami hesitated. Yugi had dragged him half out of his doze but upon choosing, when Yugi did not speak again and instead dwelled on Yami's behavior, he had taken it as a signal that the conversation was over and he was free to sleep.

Yugi frowned a little and looked at the notes that Yami had been writing before chewing his cheek. Should he wake him?

But he looked so peaceful and it seemed rude to wake him up. Besides, he looked kind of cute like that.

Yugi wasn't too daft to admit to it. Yami  _did_ look cute and innocent the way he was asleep. His face looked childish with his eyes closed despite the sharp line of his jaw and the mature features to his face. His eyelashes were long and practically touched his cheekbones. And his other cheek was bunched up from how it lay on his outstretched arm and the hand that lay on top of that. In his sleep he actually looked relaxed.

Yugi decided to let him be.

It was only ten minutes later that his phone rang and Yami's fingers twitched but the teen didn't respond otherwise and then Yugi was laughing when he realized that Yami had it set on the highest volume so that it would vibrate, possibly to wake him up, but it obviously wasn't working because he had yet to stir aside from his hand.

He slipped it out of his palm, happy that the phone was so small and smooth and coverless so that it fell from his fingers easily, catching it in his left hand and then putting it on the table.

Of course, like every other smart-phone in existence, its screen lit up with a green bubble of text. Yugi didn't look at it, of course, but after about the fifteenth text he finally got annoyed, wondering how the fuck he was supposed to turn it off if there was no power button.

No, there was a menu button, a list button and a back button.

And nothing else.

What the fuck?

Oh, the power button was on the side.

He started to press it when a single word in the text caught his attention.

Atem.

Who the fuck was that?

He looked the text over and then looked back at Yami with wide eyes.

_Atem, come on, answer the fucking phone already_.  _It's important_!

Yugi glanced back at the text and then put the phone back down for a moment before finally grabbing it and sating his curiosity; Yami did not have it password-protected, which was good for him.

The bad part?

Most of the texts, but about three of them, sent from Seto and Bakura, were in Arabic. The further he scrolled, the more they came up in Arabic, but when he got near the bottom of the lists of texts, they became Japanese.

Which obviously meant that Yami used Arabic to keep his texts completely hidden.

But what the fuck?

Why the hell would he need to do that?

Yugi messed with the phone again, surprised when twenty new texts came rolling in right after the other, half in Arabic and half in Japanese, all from Seto Kaiba.

And then, slowly, came the question…How the fuck did Yami know Seto Kaiba?

Yugi knew him from his interviews as the CEO of Kaiba Corp. but that didn't explain how Yami had his  _number_.

When Yami had said Seto, he had not thought he meant  _Kaiba_. Because that would be bat-shit crazy to assume that Yami knew the Kaiba brothers.

But apparently he did.

Maybe that was who Yami had turned around to talk to that day at the hospital. Because he had turned away and walked off after a few minutes while in the meantime Rebecca and Bakura and Malik started flipping the finger at each other while Yugi had shaken his head and walked off with the blonde tailing him after sticking her tongue out and pulling on her bottom eyelids with her middle fingers before chasing him out of the building.

There was no way…how the fuck did—Yami said his  _cousin_ was in the hospital. He didn't say which cousin. Which meant, maybe it was Seto who had been in the accident? No, oh crap, how could he have  _forgotten_?

Yami said, "Yeah, I haven't heard any news about Mokuba" that day on the couch.

Mokuba. Seto Kaiba's little brother.

Oh shit.

That meant Yami was  _related_ to the Kaiba brothers.

He looked at the taller teen behind him who was still fast asleep and tried to picture it. The three of them had  _nothing_ in common—except, maybe Mokuba's tiny size. Because according to the news reports, he was  _tiny_. Utterly tiny.

But Seto was taller than Joey. Not by much, but he had about an inch or two on him.

Yugi put the phone on the table and got up.

Now, okay, so Yami was related to them—and that  _also_ explained his little comment about his parents that went uncompleted in the mall that day since they  _worked_ for Kaiba Corp. so he must have known both about the  _two_ remarriages and divorces as well as their lack of involvement in his life—but that did nothing to explain why Seto called him "Atem". What the fuck was with that? Atem…that was a name, right? That had to be a name.

Wait, hadn't he heard that in a story with his grandfather? Yes, actually. Grandpa told him that Atem was a god of some sort—a sun god, maybe? No, he didn't really think he was a sun god. Crap, Yugi couldn't remember it for the life of him; the shock was still in his system and overriding his thoughts for the moment.

Internet. The internet would have the answers. It always did.

He leaped to his feet and took off into his room.

It took a second to start up his computer but as soon as it was on, Yugi was in the search engine, rapidly typing and looking up "Atem". A bunch of them came up saying that it was a god of some sort but that explained nothing so he continued until the fourth page in which the answer was clear.

Atem was…

Atem was the pharaoh of Egypt five thousand years ago, wielded the Millennium Puzzle—a symbol of power that was  _said_ to harbor the power of darkness, died at the age of seventeen. Yeah, that didn't exactly help him out now. This guy was dead and Yami—that was who Yugi knew him to be and that was what he would call him—was very much alive and asleep only a few feet away from him.

He scrolled through the results for a long time, pursing his lips in frustration, and then finally clicked on a link that said "Newborn looks like five-thousand-year-old pharaoh" and nearly choked when he saw the picture. That was Yami—granted it was a baby picture, but it was still Yami—right next to the tablet. Another shot showed Yami at the age of six, and a few more until he was thirteen and then they just stopped. The website said that Yami was named after his ancient look-alike ancestor. It said that his current status was unknown as no one had seen him in Egypt for over two years.

A few comments read that he was probably dead. A few others said that was ridiculous and his parents were just keeping him under lock and key while the shit-load of crap his family was under was being sorted through. A few others read that he had been captured and probably being held for ransom or something.

Yugi had to scroll up to the top again to see the comparison pictures to see that underneath each of the photos was the caption "The son of the ambassador of Egypt looks like his five-thousand-year-old ancestor." There was even a picture of a computer-generated photo of the pharaoh using old hieroglyphics to make an accurate portrait; Yugi choked when he saw the two pictures side by side. The only difference between the two was the eyes. And those were so alike it was amazing.

The pharaoh had flecks of a deep, violent shade of dark purple surrounding the pupils of his eyes and Yami's were completely red with no other color. But the shape, the long lashes, the stance they held, the way their heads were held, the shape of their jaws, and the hair were exactly the same. The only difference outside of their eye color was the fact that Yami was several shades lighter in his complexion and Atem had a deep tan coloring to his skin.

There was a snarling sound behind him, a noise of pure rage, and Yugi spun around just in time to see Yami before he was tackled to the ground and pinned there. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" the red-eyed teen spat at him, glaring angrily. "You went through my fucking text messages!"

Yugi squirmed—or at least tried to—and Yami turned his body slightly, just slightly, and then Yugi couldn't move at all. His limbs were pinned too effectively, his body was weighed down with Yami's when he distributed his weight just enough to keep Yugi's arms pinned with one hand around his wrists which were restrained over his head and a single hand in the center of his torso.

"W-what…what are you doing?" he managed, eyes wide.

The air practically vibrated with his anger and Yami's eyes were wild, darkened with a terrible rage that made Yugi want to hide under his bed. This was Yami's wild half in action. Yugi had never really wanted to see the boy pissed off and at his worst, and yet this was exactly what Yami was showing him.

"You went through my text messages," he repeated, his lips curling back to show off his teeth. Yugi felt terror well through him as soon as his eyes settled on Yami's teeth; his canines were unusually sharp and looked like they could tear his flesh open if he so much as applied a little pressure. He'd seen those teeth on Malik and Bakura and he'd witnessed a fight between the two of them in which both of them had pulled back with bite marks; Bakura had bitten him when Malik had pinned him and Malik had bitten him when Bakura got him in a headlock. The bite marks had welled up with blood from where their canines had broken the skin.

"I…You were asleep and Seto—"

"My  _cousin_ texts me," Yami spat, "and you think that because I'm asleep, you can go  _through my phone_?"

"N-no!" Yugi stammered, still staring at those sharp teeth and swallowing hard. "I just—h-he texted you and when you didn't answer he started texting you over and over and I was going to wake you up but I saw the name 'Atem' instead of Yami and I…I got curious. I'm sorry!"

Yami continued glaring at him, head tilting to the side angrily, and then pulled away, his jaw flexing as he went over to the laptop and started to clear out his history. Yugi watched him without objection and when Yami got through the four pages of his search about Atem, Yami spun on him so fast Yugi fell backwards again out of shock and fear. Yami merely stared at him, expression hard and cold and disgusted.

And then suddenly he was gone.

Yugi stared after him as he walked out of the room and hesitated to follow; when he got up, Yami was suddenly there and he was on his ass again out of surprise. Yami held his phone in his right hand, shaking it at him with a look like a wolf staring down its prey. "You went through this," he said in a low, deadly calm voice that made Yugi's bones chill with horror. "So tell me what the fuck gave you any right to do it."

He flinched and shook his head, looking away. "I didn't have any right to go through it."

"Look at me, damn it!" Yami spat angrily, making Yugi's head snap around to look at him in shock again. "Do not fucking look away from me when I am talking to you."

Yugi flinched and stared, eyes widening further. Yami was in some state of wilderness that made Yugi want to hide under a rock somewhere.

"Now, repeat what you just said."

"I…I said I didn't have any right to go through it."

Yami sneered at him. "'I didn't have the right to go through it'."

It was odd, because the fact that his voice lowered, that he didn't scream at him, scared him much worse than anyone else had managed to do to him all sixteen years of his life and he was seconds away from pissing himself.

"So then why the fuck would you  _assume_ that just because my cousin calls me 'Atem' instead of Yami you have the fucking  _right_ to go through my text messages?" he spat, looking ready to attack him for a moment before instead running his hands through his hair and settling for just glaring at him. "I fucking hate presumptuous assholes like you. I fucking hate them."

Yugi flinched again but didn't speak, seeing that Yami was clearly not finished.

"You know what? This makes you a fucking liability. Someone finds me and they might just fucking find you too. Did you ever think that knowledge is a burden and  _not_ a power?" Yami hissed at him, walking closer and making Yugi scoot back into the bedpost; he hit it hard and let out a sharp gasp of intense pain, eyes widening. Yami didn't falter and instead got in front of him and crouched there, getting to eye level with him. "No one was supposed to fucking know about this. Do you not realize that?"

Yugi didn't answer and then trembled when Yami barked, "I'm talking to you!"

"I—I…N-no?"

"Why the  _fuck_ is there a  _question mark_ at the end of that?"

"S-sorry."

"Stop stuttering."

Yugi couldn't answer because he was pretty sure he would have ended up stuttering if he opened his mouth and tried to force a response. Yami didn't make him talk. Yugi watched as he got up and pulled away from him, stepping back a couple of times and then looking at his phone. It wasn't until Yami was out the doorway that Yugi realized he was about to leave; he got to the living room just as Yami was grabbing his canvas bag and tackled him so hard that they both hit the backrest of the couch and sent the piece of furniture toppling over.

Yami struggled beneath him but Yugi managed to pin him down, steeling all of his muscles and making it impossible for the taller teen to get out from under him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Yami snarled at him, no longer struggling and now just looking at him with a furious expression; Yugi kept him pinned on his stomach, his legs locking Yami's in place against the fallen furniture and his hands holding Yami's behind his back.

"What did the articles mean? They said that there was something going on with your parents?"

"Oh, so you think you can go through my stuff and then demand answers?" Yami sneered at him, very suddenly bucking sideways and rolling them over; the speed and impact of Yami's weight left him breathless and the taller teen had him pinned in a millisecond. "Fuck you."

Yugi squirmed but just like in his room, Yami's grip was infallible and impossible for him to get out of. "Yami—"

"Aren't you going to call me Atem?" he spat angrily, eyes wild and leaving Yugi shocked. "I mean, you know that's my real name so why aren't you calling me by it?"

Yugi swallowed hard. "I only know you as Yami."

"Yeah, aren't you lucky? You only got to experience Yami. You never had to deal with Atem. But we can't all be as lucky as you, can we?"

He blinked and Yami released him rather suddenly, getting up and hopping over the couch's base before grabbing his phone back from where it had fallen from the impact; Yugi pulled himself into a sitting position and watched as the taller teen started texting rapidly, arms crossed and expression less than happy.

Did Yami hate himself? Or…rather, part of himself?

Because it sure sounded that way when Yami spoke. He spat his name like it was poison and his voice had been so dark and murderous that Yugi had had a brief moment where he thought Yami might do just that.

Yami's phone ringing startled him out of his reverie and Yami was suddenly glaring at him. "Keep your fucking mouth shut," he snapped, pulling the phone up to his ear; Yugi wasn't sure what language he was speaking but it definitely wasn't Japanese so he guessed it was Arabic. But he was still too freaked out to really try to figure what was being said.

"Hello?"

Yugi listened to some other voice, sharp, nasty, brutal, snapping at him from the other end and Yami merely turned his head and stared at the ground with his jaw set. Yugi didn't think it was fair that Yami only got that one word out before the other voice started barking at him, especially not when, three minutes later, the phone disconnected and Yami stared at it for a moment before pocketing it again.

"You know, if I were in some kind of stupid movie, I would have my team of secret agents hunt you down and kill you for knowing this crap," the red-eyed teen said suddenly, turning to him and staring with a brutal expression that made Yugi flinch again. "Aren't you lucky you aren't in a movie?"

Yugi let out a small breath and Yami's eyes narrowed for a moment before he turned away again and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head.

"I am so screwed."

"Yami, I—"

" _Don't_ ," Yami snapped, spinning on him. "Don't fucking talk anymore. Don't apologize because it doesn't fucking  _matter_ if you're sorry or not. Don't ask questions because then I might feel  _obligated_ to answer you. Don't look at me because I feel like my head is going to explode."

Yugi blinked and then turned away, listening as Yami took a few deep breaths and then started pacing. Yugi let his eyes wander and spotted Yami moving back and forth quickly, jaw clenched and hands running through his hair in frustration. Whatever it was that scared him so badly, Yugi had obviously just released it to bite him in the ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	9. Common Courtesy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon) and homosexual slander (use of word "fag/faggot")  
> Homosexual Slander Warning: The word is used as a self derogatory statement by one of the characters in first half of chapter.  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "Hmm. So you say"  
> Lemon Note: This lemon is actually VERY important to the story. It's heterosexual however, so definitely not Yugi and Yami.

Chapter IX: Common Courtesy

Atem Sennen…

And the first thing that popped up?

His father, whose name Yugi could not pronounce for the life of him. Too many letters. His head swam just  _trying_ to pronounce it.

But that wasn't what caught his attention.

No, beneath that.

The ambassador of Egypt.

Anti-gay activist.

The rallies he had been to against gays. Over two hundred and just in the last two years alone. He made posters and banners and spoke and led a massive campaign online against them.

He called them abominations. He slandered them. He said that men were only meant for women, that they were meant to reproduce, that being gay defeated the purpose of their species, of  _any_ species.

Good Kami, Yugi had to wonder if he knew that  _lions_ —the official animal of his campaign—had homosexual tendencies. And Yugi knew this from the zoo, from National Geographic Channel and from the safari he went on in which two male lions had bumped uglies right near the car that they were in.

No wonder Yami freaked out. It definitely made sense.

Especially when he read the statement "If my children were ever to be of such a crime, I would no longer have them as part of my family. And my wife supports this decision."

He grimaced as he deleted the history of the page he had just been on.

Yami sat a few feet away from him, texting in Arabic, cursing softly under his breath, whispering some kind of prayer to Ra…

"Are you praying to a Duel Monsters card?" Yugi snapped, turning his head.

"Ra, the Egyptian god. Solar deity. Identified with the sun god Atum."

"That's who you are named after, right?"

"Wrong. My ancestor was named after him. I was named after the pharaoh."

"Okay, don't get snippy."

Yami looked like he wanted to take his head off so Yugi shut his mouth and turned away; then the muttering started again and Yugi was left with Yami's voice soft and quiet and nearly inaudible as a constant reminder in the back of his head that he had just fucked up big time.

After two hours of trying to calm the boy down, now he sat here and whispered prayers to a god that he probably didn't even truly believe in. And this, Yugi knew, was as calm as he would get him.

"I have to go."

When he stood Yugi followed him immediately, grabbing his arm and restraining him, making his head snap around with narrowed eyes because a second later, his hand was freed and yet  _again,_ Yugi could not understand how the fuck he did it.

"You can't go, Yami," he argued. "It's past midnight. I'm not going to be responsible if you get murdered or something. You could get kidnapped."

"No one wants a faggot as a captive," Yami snapped back. "Who the fuck would  _possibly_ want a faggot captive?"

"Gay men with young teenage fetishes."

He was shoved roughly backwards and hit the table with his shoulder, hissing in pain as Yami glared down at him, spitting, "Do  _not_ joke about this. It is not funny. And right about now, it makes me want to rip your goddamned head off."

Yugi gave him a look of pure shock before nodding once and frowning. "I'm sorry."

"Shut up."

The taller boy grabbed his notebooks and started to slip them into his bag.

"I was serious," he stated, getting up. "You will not leave, Yami. I won't let you. I swear on every deity in existence that I will tie you up if I fucking have to, but you are not leaving."

"I'm not going to get kidnapped. Kidnappings almost never happen around here."

"Yeah, and escaped convicts barely happen either but it happened last year."

"Escaped convicts are more likely to happen than a kidnapping."

"I think you're just being stupid."

"And I think I should wring your neck."

"I think you shouldn't do that but you should definitely stay here tonight."

"Nothing good ever comes of me being here."

"Yeah, but at least you would be safe."

"I'm not safe when I'm around you."

"What does that mean?"

Yami gestured to the computer screen. "You know damn  _well_ what that means."

Yugi swallowed hard. "Yami, no one is going to find out."

"That's bullshit and we both know it. It will get out and I will be destroyed. Completely and utterly."

"It will not and you're going to be  _fine_."

"No, Yugi, I won't be. And you want to know why I won't be 'fine'? Because when this gets out, my father will disown me. My mother will turn her back on me. My family will be the laughing stock of Egypt. I mean, look at that. My father speaks of how I am straight and will marry someone of power and his goddamned son is over here shacking up with the smallest teen in  _existence_  who has a reputation as a bad boy who craves so much fucking attention I wouldn't be surprised if he was off fucking everyone else  _while_  he was going at it with me. Let's not forget that I am expected to have children to carry on my bloodline and I'll probably get a goddamned STD before I even turn seventeen next February."

Yugi gawked at him. "Okay, I'm not  _that_  much of a whore," he snapped. "I stick to one person and one person only."

That was true at least.

"And you're not going to get an STD if you aren't fucking anyone else on the side either, Yami."

"Of course I'm not fucking anyone else on the side," Yami spat, shaking his head and starting to comb his fingers through his hair. "As I told you before, Yugi, not everyone is a slut like you."

The way he enunciated the words made him sick. Yami thought he knew him  _so_ well, but he had no fucking idea who Yugi Motou even  _was_ , not that it helped much that Yugi didn't think he did either.

"Damn it, Yami."

"Shut up."

Yugi swore that if Yami told him to do that again he would punch the shit out of him, no matter if he struggled against him or not. He was getting tired of being told that and he would kick his ass if he had to.

Not that he really felt he needed to…

"If it makes you feel better, you can sleep in my room and I can sleep on the couch out here."

"No, what would make me feel 'better' is if you would knock it off and let me go  _home_."

"No, you could get kidnapped."

"The only kidnapper in Domino City is  _you_."

"That's not true. You came here willingly."

"Just like a two-year-old will follow a stranger around for ice cream."

"Huh?"

"I came here with you. But you are not letting me go. This is just like a two-year-old following a stranger around for ice cream. And then being kidnapped when they won't let the two-year-old go."

"Are you calling yourself a toddler?"

Yugi hit the ground with a pulsing pain in his jaw just in front of his left ear and it made his head spin. Fuck, that kid hit  _hard_.

"Oh my fucking god! What are you? A goddamned  _masochist_?" Yami spat, glaring at him.

Hmm, so Yami's hits weren't the only things hard.

"Far from it. I'm a sadist."

"Fuck you."

"Anytime."

Both of them glared at each other for a moment.

"I need to get back to my house."

"You don't  _need_ to do anything. You're just running."

"I promised Mokuba…"

"I am  _sure_ that if you told your cousin you were a two-year-old following a stranger around for ice cream, he would understand," Yugi said condescendingly.

Yami's eye twitched. "If you're holding me captive and I slit your throat, it's counted as self-defense, you know."

"Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you, baby?" he cooed.

Yami grabbed him so fast he got whiplash. He jerked him forward with his teeth bared and gleaming, a mere inch from his face, snarling softly as he tightened the grip on the collar of his shirt. "Don't you dare fucking call me that," he spat, shoving him back; Yugi didn't budge but Yami released him anyways and stood straight again, glaring at him angrily. "Besides, I think they would surely make an exception for the ambassador's son who can do no wrong."

He rolled his eyes and Yugi smirked slightly.

"Someone has daddy issues."

The dark red eyes flashed angrily before he turned away again, grabbing his canvas bag and phone before starting for the door only to be blindsided when Yugi tackled him and pinned him to the ground, hands around his throat.

"I already told you that you aren't leaving."

"And I am telling you right now that I  _am_ leaving so either back off or I will hurt you, Yugi."

"You wouldn't."

"You're pushing at extremities you know nothing of."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Exactly. Now get the fuck off me before I beat the crap out of you."

"Agree to stay here tonight."

"Nothing good ever happens when I am here."

"So the sex isn't good?"

"Sex is the  _problem_!" Yami spat, suddenly kicking him hard in the side and winding him for a brief moment; when the taller teen went to pull away Yugi grabbed him hard with a hand around his throat and a knee against his groin. Yami froze and Yugi smirked widely at him.

"I can fight, Yami, I just prefer not to. But try to move again, and I will make sure you can never have kids."

Yami stayed still, but his eyes spoke of murder.

"Good, now let's talk this over, shall we?"

"There is nothing to talk about. I am going home."

"You're not. You are going to stay  _here_."

"I will not," he spat incredulously with an undertone of indignation. "I refuse to remain here. And you will let me go or I  _will_ hurt you."

"Want to see how much we can hurt each other? I've had years of bullying, Yami, I can take a few hits. Plus, I know how to fight so I could lay a few nasty blows on you too," he snapped as that smirk grew tenfold, seeming to nearly split his face open. "Pick your choice."

Yami glared at him for a moment and then started to push him, possibly to punch, and that knee in his groin came closer to impacting him; his movements ceased again, blinking before snarling softly with his teeth bared.

The two of them remained like this, a tangle of limbs ready to harm one another at a single moment's notice, face mere inches away from each other, eyes narrowed into glares, one's face fierce in expression while the other looked at this as if it was some kind of joke that was so entertaining it threatened to break his face.

Yami released where he was gripping his shoulder and Yugi pulled away from him so that Yami could sit up and stare at him, the two of them watching one another closely, suspiciously. Yami scooted up towards the wall and stared at him while Yugi looked ready to pounce at any moment; in all honesty, Yami had experienced how fast that small boy moved, how his lithe little body was wily with muscles beneath the surface of his skin, and he was not really looking forward to being thrown to the ground again.

Besides, he was still so tired. So terribly tired.

And he knew Yugi wouldn't hurt him.

If not for this he would have fought tooth and nail, genitals and future children be damned. Besides, he didn't even  _want_ fucking kids. What if they fucked up? He would have to deal with it. Oh a dead body? Let's go dig a grave in the backyard. Neither of us will say anything, okay?

Yami rolled his eyes. Children were nothing but fucking annoying creatures that he never wanted to have to interact with. Not before the age of six anyways. Anything before that and he would happily stab it to death with a fork. Of course, he would never say this out loud, because what if a kid really  _was_ stabbed to death with a fork? He would be the first suspect.

Yeah, so he wouldn't tell anyone about that.

He would put out the mild, middle version.

_Babies are stinky, they poop too much, they cry too much, and I don't like them_.

Yeah, that was it.

Yugi gave him a confused look.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He wasn't even moving anymore.

Yami wrinkled his nose in distaste and then sighed before rolling his eyes up behind his lids like someone going through an exorcism. "Whatever."

"Good, now that we have an understanding," Yugi announced, getting up. "Go to bed. My room. Sleep in it. I'll be out here. And I'll only say this once, Yami. I'm a light sleeper so if you try to run off later, I'll jump your ass."

Yami raised an eyebrow and then glowered before falling short with the motion. He was too tired to even keep his face twisted the same way. Much too tired.

He laid his head back against the wall for a moment and then got up and walked back into the bedroom, dropping his backpack on the couch before wandering off into Yugi's room again, texting before turning off his phone and laying down.

The morning came much too soon. Yugi sat up like something had burned him, head turned towards him as he strode into the kitchen, ignoring his existence altogether; he was too hungry to bother with him, grabbing a bagel and toasting it in the toaster and then buttering it while Yugi got up and slowly trotted into the room after him.

The only good thing about this unorthodox sleepover was that Yugi did in fact keep his promise and slept the whole night on the couch. Not once did he try to sneak into his bedroom like Yami would have guessed. But the rest was horrible.

Yami was so jumpy that every little sound anywhere from a pair of cats either fighting or mating somewhere outside to a branch that hit the window woke him and made him sit up to look around and have a moment where he was confused and couldn't figure out where he was before he night's events would catch up with him again; he was uncomfortable and felt oddly lonely and couldn't sleep to save his life and when he  _did_ finally fall asleep, his tossing and turning woke him up at seven in the morning and he couldn't fall back asleep although he didn't really bother at that point, instead opting to check his phone and then turn it off again to conserve the battery.

Oh, his phone was going to die soon.

He rolled his eyes. How lovely.

He hated that about his phone. It was a smart-phone so of course its battery life had to suck as opposed to his old phone which went three weeks without charge. But he only used that for emergencies anyways.

Ha, that was all he used phones for as it was.

Yami ignored him as he took a seat in front of him and stared almost expectantly, not even bothering to glance in his direction as he continued happily eating his breakfast before licking some excess butter on his fingers. No, he was not oblivious to the way that Yugi's eyes were trained on this, darkened with lust and filled with confusion and guilt all at once.

"Fuck, okay, I'm sorry, Yami!" he snapped, rolling his eyes.

Yami ignored him and went back to licking butter off his fingertips.

"How long are you going to go on ignoring me? It's annoying already."

He was watching him closely so he actually caught it when the small tug on the right side of Yami's lip anchored a momentary smirk before disappearing altogether.

"Yami, I really  _am_ sorry for reading your text messages and looking you up online. I didn't mean to make you mad. I just…I was curious and…I'm seriously—"

Yami covered his mouth with his hand and Yugi looked at him with wide eyes. "Your apology is fucking annoying," he grumbled, pulling his hand back with a roll of his eyes, glowering slightly at the butter he left on the counter before getting up and going to put it back in the fridge.

Yugi tracked his movements with his eyes, twisting around to look at him and watch as he turned back.

"I apologize for hurting you last night."

The smaller boy gave him a confused look and Yami tapped the spot in front of his ear, telling Yugi without words to do the same; pain seared through his skin with the contact, realizing that he probably had a really nasty bruise.

"Nothing a little makeup won't cover up," he muttered, shrugging and looking him over. "But seriously, I'm sorry about yesterday."

"It doesn't change anything so I don't know why the fuck you are bothering."

"It's…common courtesy."

Yami tipped his head to the side with an incredulous look. "Is it?" he responded in a low voice.

Yugi gave him a confused look but nodded.

"Hmm."

His phone vibrated in his pocket and Yami unlocked the screen, the light making his eyes hurt before a small smile formed on his face. Oh, goody.

"I am sorry to cut this…reconciliation short, but I must be going."

That confusion tripled as he furrowed his brows. "Uh…okay…?"

Yami was out the door before the second word even left his mouth.

_So much for goodbyes_ , Yugi thought with a huff, sitting back in his chair and glowering.

* * *

He answered on the second knock and gave her a wide smile as he allowed her to step inside, watching as dark violet eyes looked around the room and whistled softly before smiling at him. "Nice place."

Yami shrugged. "Mom and Dad pay for it, so it's really whatever." He closed the door and watched as she admired it further, walking around and looking everything over as it  _was_ the first time she had ever been there. Not that anyone was ever really allowed in here in the first place.

His house was not a place that he liked to be around people.

"So, uh…how are we going to do this?"

Yami blinked and then opened and closed his mouth before furrowing his brows. "I didn't really…think that far."

Her laughter was soft and twinkling and her eyes were full of affection as she looked him over, shaking her head slightly. Yami offered a small sheepish smile and then cleared his throat as he headed around the couch.

"Um…well, do you want something to drink first?"

"Ooh, refreshments first? You sure know how to spoil a girl."

Yami chuckled and shook his head, smiling over his shoulder at her and leading the way to the kitchen, opening the fridge for her.

She whistled again in appreciation. "Shit, your parents must be loaded."

He shrugged halfheartedly.

"You know, if this works, I'll marry you."

He couldn't help but laugh at her before shaking his head. "I'd marry you in a heartbeat, Mai."

"Ooh, so we're on the same page."

Yami chuckled again and paused to give her a small smirk of amusement before licking his lips. "Yes, I suppose we are," he agreed, shaking his head again and reaching in to grab a Sprite. "Do you want one?"

"What else do you have?"

"Cherry coke, Diet coke, regular coke, I don't know…a lot of sodas. I have varying cravings every other week so I like to stay stocked up on what I might want." He gave a small hum of a noise and brought out the Cherry coke, which upon mentioning had made her smile slightly. He handed it over and she took it from him before smiling wider and unscrewing the cap, her lips curving up into a smile as she sipped at the chilled soda. "I mean, I have a lot of fucking sodas."

Her lips did something funny as she swallowed a mouthful and Yami felt oddly stirred by it, but not as much as he thought he would be. But her eyes were smoldering and paid him attention that he had always thought was normally impossible to truly grasp, before slowly he began to realize that her eyes were full of adoration and lust.

It affected him in a different way than expected.

He shifted awkwardly and then looked at her before licking his lips again.

"I don't, um…I mean…I'm not a virgin, but…but…"

"You can say no anytime you want."

Yami shook his head slowly and put his own lemon-lime soda down on the counter and leaned against it, biting his lip and offering a small sheepish twist of his lips. "I don't want to say no. I just…thank you for helping me with this. You really did not have to agree to this."

She shook her head. "Oh don't worry about it, Yami. It's fine. Besides, you've always helped me with things when I needed them. And friends help each other, no matter what," she said with a small smile.

"With things like this?"

"Sure. It's called experimentation. Everyone tries it out at some point. Or at least, seniors do anyways." She winked laughing violet eyes and wagged her eyebrows suggestively at him, the curve of her lips teasing in their wide smirk.

Yami barked out a laugh of pure amusement and nervousness. "Oh? And who have  _you_ been experimenting with?"

"Sadly, I experimented with that creep Ushio—"

"You mean, I…my penis…"

"We never got that far!" she objected, laughing harder than ever. "No, he—okay, he doesn't really count as experimentation. It was just a weird kiss that he gave me and I would rather label it under that than anything else."

"Oh…okay then."

She shook her head again. "You are such a strange boy."

"He probably has STDs. I can't put my penis anywhere near where his has been."

She cracked up. "Dear god, Yami."

He shrugged a shoulder lazily. "Honestly, Mai, I could never live with myself if that was to happen. I'd have to kill myself or something."

"Trust me, if Ushio and I had hooked up, I would not be here anymore. Besides, I hear he compensates with muscles to make up for having a micro-penis."

Yami choked on his own saliva. "Oh?"

She nodded eagerly. "Vivian was talking about it in the girls' locker room."

He raised an eyebrow in interest, leaning against the counter. "Who knew that Mr. I'll Kick Your Ass If You're In The Hallways When The Bell Rings was really Mr. Tiny?"

"Mr. I-K-Y-A-I-Y-I-T-H-W-T-B-R."

Yami blinked and then laughed. "Fuck, we need a new name for him."

Mai laughed softly with him before shaking her head. "You know, even if this doesn't happen, I love you," she murmured.

His eyes flickered down to regard a drop of condensation on the side of his dark green bottle. He was well aware that somewhere along the lines in the two years that he had known her, he had somehow drawn her in far closer than he had ever meant to and he felt horrible because it was so unrequited it was disgusting. He never thought of her that way. Not in the least. She was Mai. And Mai was nothing but a friend. "Mai…"

"I know you don't feel the same way."

"I…I'm so sorry."

"No, don't apologize for that," she argued, smiling at him. "You should never apologize for that. It's chemistry. It just exists or it doesn't."

"Why are you letting this happen?"

"I told you already."

He raised his head. "I know you heard about what I did to Tea. Aren't you worried I'll do the same to you?"

"Yami, you didn't even know her. It is  _so_ not surprising that it wouldn't work. It should have been obvious in the first place. You were never attracted to her."

Yami wanted to say he was never attracted to her either but they both knew that was a lie; she had worn an outfit that had him startled and blushing and hard on more than one occasion. But it was strange, in all honesty. It didn't feel natural like it did with Yugi. It felt like something had suddenly sprung through him, like it was an automatic reaction as opposed to one that he recognized would happen again later, like because he thought he was straight his penis took that as permission to try to jump out of his jeans.

"Are you sure you want to try this?" she asked softly.

"Are you sure you want to  _let_ me?" he retorted.

She smiled and snorted and shook her head. "Oh, Yami," she muttered, "it's hardly a problem by any means. I promise. If you want to back out, you should do it before we do anything. Because once I get started…"

Yami laughed loudly at her statement, shaking his head in amusement. "All right. But I'm not backing out. I have to figure it out."

Mai smiled and her dark violet eyes were kind. "Of course."

The good thing about this whole arrangement was that there were no strings attached. It was literally for experimentation, for fun, nothing like what Tea had expected from him or what seemed to happen when he was around Yugi. Nothing like that pulse that made his blood hum in his veins and his heart pound that much faster. No, that was between him and Yugi. And no one else.

And the knowledge of that did nothing but serve to scare him more.

Because he was pretty sure he knew what it meant. Even if he didn't want to acknowledge it.

It took a few minutes for him to make his feet move, to lead her to the bedroom. She looked around at the white walls, the beige carpet, the plush red of the bed, the dark royal blue of the pillows spread with some black between and a few white, the case of video games in one corner, the shelf of books in the other with a porcelain wolf statue in running motion sitting on the top of beautiful dark red-brown wood, the chest of drawers and the closet and even the single mirror in the back wall of that small room.

"I know it's probably not the most…um…I don't know…best?…room but whatever," Yami stated, gesturing vaguely with a single flick of his wrist.

When her attention drifted back to him, she had to admit that he was one of the most beautiful people she had ever encountered. He had that gorgeous golden-bronze skin tone, that sharp jaw and a mature face that still had childish expression to it, with a slender and lean builder that still screamed power beneath his flesh. He was small, much smaller than most in height, but his beauty made up for what he physically lacked in this way. His eyes were sharper than most, with dark lashes, thick and long and spidery, with eyebrows that seemed delicate, with a gaze that was as demonic and intelligent as it was childish and oddly angelic. His neck was slender and average, not too long and not too short, and his hair made his eyes and face even more beautiful and noticeable, with long strands of fire-tipped midnight and lightning bolts of gold that shot through the mess of darkness and bangs that shot out and framed his cheeks while accentuating the sharp curve of his jaw.

And in this pose, with his raised arm's wrist half rotated, his thumb up and his fingers half-folded into his palm, the bracelets on his wrist catching the gleam of the lamp light, his elbow pressed to the middle of the arm wrapped over his torso, his head tilted to the side so that his bangs cast shadows across his flawless skin, his eyes partly closed with a slightly bored expression, he was so beautiful that it hurt. His tight black leather tank top beneath his warm dark gray jacket with the silver lining, falling over his gray-black skinny jeans, made his complexion even more noticeable and warm and Mai felt a small tingle course through her.

For the night, he was hers.

It was only when he shifted his position slightly that she noticed his slender digits were shaking the smallest bit.

"Yami," she teased, watching as his eyes widened slightly in acknowledgment of his name, "you're acting like a scared virgin."

He chuckled and the timbre of it made her feel a small ache between her legs.

Hmm…he would definitely sound sexy moaning.

Now, if only he was taller and then he would be  _perfect_.

But, of course, he was shorter than her, and though that didn't really bother her, it was a little strange. But then, that was what she got for being tall, she supposed. Most guys felt intimidated by her height as it was, high heels or otherwise.

"I might as well be."

Mai rolled her large violet eyes. "Oh please. It's hardly something to be so nervous about. I promise that you're okay. Besides, you still have one chance to back out."

Yami licked his lips, bit his bottom one, closed his eyes, drew it beneath his teeth and then smirked and opened his eyes, tilting his head further and crossing his arms. "No, let's do this. But if I lose my nerve?"

"Please, sweetheart, that's not going to happen."

"Hmm. So you say."

She snorted a laugh and strode towards him, licking her naturally pink lips, fighting back a purr when Yami greeted her hungry kiss with just as much vigor; he backed up, fell back against the bed and she laughed when he squirmed out of her grip and backed up towards the pillows.

"Are you pounding or am I riding?"

Yami gave her an unbelievably confused, adorable look that left her blinking in shock before her mouth fell open.

"You don't know what that means?"

Small bits of pink appeared unevenly on his cheeks as he squirmed beneath her for a moment. "Um…no?"

"Do you want to top or shall I?"

He opened his mouth to ask how the fuck she had a penis before realizing what she meant and then smacked his forehead before groaning. "I'm an idiot. Uh, I'll top. It's easier, right?"

"Either way works for me."

Yami grabbed her suddenly and rolled and she was pressed against one of the softest pillows she had ever encountered, momentarily stunned.

"Would you relax a little?" she asked, laughing when Yami's fingers trembled slightly as he reached for lace of her black corset, eyes widening slightly at her request before blushing furiously, ducking his head and busying himself with undoing the bow of it. Unlike all the other teenagers she had been with, he did not jump immediately at her breasts, did not try to pull her bra off with inexperience.

"The hook is in the back, right?" he murmured.

"Have you never seen a girl naked?"

Yami very slowly shook his head, frowning slightly.

She sat up under him and he moved to accommodate her, watching closely as she shrugged off her dark purple short jacket and shed it on the floor next to the bed, reaching behind her and unclipping her dark black bra to expose her D-cup breasts. Yami tilted his head as he looked them over and then felt her freshly-red-painted nails pulling on his jacket sleeves, easing the shoulders off gently with her own slender appendages, pulling it off with a gentle kiss against his lips, snaking her tongue into his mouth where she tasted overwhelming icy mint and dark chocolate that left her body aching with desire.

Even if this never happened again, she would be glad to experience it just this once.

Yami stretched himself, bent to accommodate her taking off his leather tank top, feeling her dark eyes on his abs even though he did not bother looking at her to see the lust that lingered there. Instead he went about unbuckling the two belts on her waist, the black with gray studs and the little pink one that actually held up her dark purple shorts. She did not bother to point out that he should have taken her knee-high leather boots off first, but he did it a moment later, unzipping them from the sides and then leaping off the bed like a cat, pulling them off and then ignoring the stockings for whatever reason, grabbing her shorts and lace panties and pulling them off.

She sat up, leaned forward, slowly ran her hands up and placed them on his shoulders before running them back down to the top of his hips, using her long nails to elicit a shiver beneath them as she put them to rest on the top of his jeans.

She pressed a gentle kiss to his jaw and he let out a low moan of a breath before allowing her hands to move on their accord to settle around his hips and up his back until they came to the nape of his neck. And when she looked up, she found that his eyes were closed and he was completely relaxed. She let her lips pull up into a small smile of contentment.

When she pressed her lips against his again, she was welcomed back into a cavern that was warm and wet and sent tremors up and down her back, made her core throb at the delicious taste.

Their tongues tangled and danced together and his hands moved to her hips, gripping them tightly in his fingers before suddenly she was pushed into the bed, one hand on her shoulder and the other still gripping her hip. His mouth grew needy, faster in its movements, harder against her soft lips, and she tangled her fingers into his hair, moaning into his mouth as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She had to admit that she was oddly but  _delightfully_ surprised when his hands left her shoulder and hip to grip at her breasts, massaging until her nipples were as hard as rock beneath his palms. Mai had honestly never felt so claimed in her life, and she knew for a fact that Yami was not done.

Kisses, hot and wet, trailed down the side of her neck and to her hips before she realized that panting noise was both of them, their breath coming out in ragged whispers of sound. His knuckle brushed against her sex for a moment and he furrowed his brow before wrinkling his nose, looking thoughtful before parting her legs more at her thighs.

He pulled back and jumped off the bed again, pulling off his jeans and discarded them to the floor. His penis was free, but it was not as hard as it should have been; Mai blinked in surprise.

Maybe he really was gay, because he should have been leaking; she was using her best kissing skills, after all, and she was wet for him. He seemed to realize this as well and when he crawled back onto the bed, he drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the exposed sheet next to her, pursing his lips.

"How about I try a hand job? That might work," she offered.

He debated it and then slowly nodded consent.

Even flaccid, he had girth and she found herself just  _barely_ suppressing a purr as she grabbed the end of his penis and slowly pumped up and down before quickening her pace; Yami made a small noise in the back of his throat but both of them recognized it more as discomfort than anything else.

Mai gave him a small sad smile and he sighed before ducking his head into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Neither of them was really sure who said it first, because it came out at the same time.

"Well, I promised you a night with me," Yami stated, suddenly crawling past her and reaching into the nightstand on the right side, the one with the lamp, pulling out a box of condoms and a couple of pills.

"What are those?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Viagra," he murmured, blushing slightly before looking the small baggy over, eyeing the white pills for a long moment before pulling it open and popping one of them into his mouth.

She was gawking when he turned back. "I…I can't believe you just did that."

"Mai, don't you know I love you too?"

Her lips twisted into a small sad smile. "Just not the same way."

He shook his head in regret. "I'm sorry."

"Yami, you shouldn't apologize for things you can't control. It's stupid."

Yami gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I do stupid things."

"This isn't one of them."

His eyes turned incredulous. "You're biased."

"So are you."

A small soft hum was her answer, a noise of acknowledgment rather than agreement.

"So, um…how long do those take to work?"

"I think I read that it takes a half hour but I have to be sexually stimulated for it to work…"

"So we have half an hour to make that little cutie pie three times his size."

Yami flushed. "He is not cute. He's…um…intimidating."

Mai burst out laughing and hugged him tightly, shaking her head. "Oh my god, you are  _so_ my best friend ever."

He chuckled softly in her ear. "I better be. It took me a shit load of time to get those three tiny little things."

"How did you get those anyways?"

"I bribed a pharmaceutical boy to get it for me for two hundred dollars and then I had to wait around for three hours before he got off his shift and he could only snag three of them and I really only needed one, but whatever."

"Oh, you don't plan on a second round?"

"Oh, of course I do, considering it's you, but the website said never to take more than one a day and considering all the side effects that are possible, I was  _not_  about to dismiss those instructions."

She snickered and then reached down and started pumping at his penis lightly; it twitched and stirred in her grip and she was fascinated by the way it seemed to grow as she continued her slow pace; Yami watched her curiously but did not comment and purred softly when she continued her movements. She paused at one point to run her nail along the underside and watched as Yami growled softly and trembled with the attention she gave his growing erection.

"He's so  _cute_."

"Goddamn it, woman, you're not supposed to call a penis 'cute'. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Yami growled playfully.

"But gay penises  _are_ cute."

The male blinked and then buried his face in her neck. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There is  _nothing_ wrong with you," she said firmly, fiercely. "If there was something wrong with you, I would have been the first to point it out."

He laughed, because it was true, and then watched as she plucked out a condom and tore the foil away, rolling it onto his erection and making him moan as his fingers sank into the mattress. Still, the feeling of the condom placed on him did not stop his train of thoughts.

"You're still on birth control, right?"

"Geez, you worry too much."

"Mai…"

"Yes, yes, I am on birth control," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "You won't be knocking me up anytime soon, Yami Sennen."

"Oh thank Ra. I hate kids."

She burst out laughing as he aligned himself. "You and me both."

"You think in thirty years, if neither of us is married, we could get married and then just like live together and then split rent while fucking people on the side? It'd be the  _perfect_ open marriage."

She laughed with delight and hugged him tightly. "Oh my god, yes. Let's do it."

He held out his pinkie and she hooked hers around it, laughing louder.

"Our wedding vows can be that we promise that if we hate the other's roommate they have to dump their ass."

"Oh yes. Let's do it."

Mai arched upwards and her breasts were soft and warm against his chest as she moaned softly with his first thrust. It was odd, but they found a rhythm eventually, though Yami felt strange the entire time because she was soft and wet and warm and loose but tight all at once, so unlike Yugi who had been hot and so tight that he was overwhelmed with the scorching heat he brought him.

But of course they were different. Gender, hair, face, eyes, body. Mai had curves that made up a perfect hourglass figure and legs that stretched for miles, strong as they wrapped around his waist. And breasts that looked like something you would have many sex dreams about just because they looked that good. And her hair was long and beautiful and platinum, curly at the end and wavy as they fell from her scalp to cascade down her shoulders. She had a little curly forelock that reminded him of Yugi…

Yami closed his eyes and her nails dug into his shoulders as he continued moving with her, their rhythm slow and easy and stunningly like his and Yugi's.

She was not tight but she was not loose.

Because she was no virgin. But she kept her pants on when she didn't want a boy in her and she had standards that were endless in depth, and she had those times when she felt she needed release and this was how she got it. It was honestly that simple.

Why couldn't he love her back?

Life would be so simple if he only could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	10. Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon) and homosexual slander  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "I was going up to the roof and then I realized I had to pee...so I came here. And apparently my copycat followed me" until you reach "Yeah, I don't think it's that soft either". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to get to the second part where the lemon is finished.  
> Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...  
> Homosexual Slander Warning: The use of the word "fag/faggot" is used in several parts of the chapter—parts one, two, three and five.  
> Attempted Rape Warning: Rape attempts are mentioned in last part of the chapter. NONE of them are described. Just a warning.

Chapter X: Demon

Yami was halfway down the street when his skin started to prickle. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end—nothing really different considering his hair was naturally gravity-defying in the first place.

But when he turned his head and looked over his shoulder, narrowed his eyes, he knew that it was someone following him because he had seen that car so many fucking times lately that it was not even funny.

No, it was around almost every corner when he looked behind him. It was hiding when he went to the hospital. It hid when he walked Mai back to her place. It also hid when he walked to and from Yugi's house. But it was never inconspicuous.

The car was too nice, too shiny, too dark to be inconspicuous. With the windows tinted to such a shade, it was a wonder that they were not drug dealers. But the car itself was empty this time.

He knew that because his instincts told him so. That this was the chance he had in which he would be able to get to the stupid car's plate. And that was exactly what he did. Because it was pulled over at the gas station, he hurried over, looking inside only to find that there seemed to be a bunch of fucking people in there.

Some of them had dressy clothes, others had regular clothes.

He had a fleeting moment where he thought maybe it was like the mafia but then shrugged it aside and went around a couple of shrubs to hide himself from any eyes as he looked the plate over.

And then Yami froze.

That license plate number…

That was one of his father's workers.

He had the plates memorized because his dad said that the political scandal had gotten larger. Things were blowing up there and while Yami hoped for the best, this was not it. Fuck, what was anyone with the goddamned Egyptian license plate doing  _here_?

Had his father sent them?

But that made no sense because he would have  _told_ him if that was the case.

Which meant that he was not supposed to be there.

Yami searched his memory for any mention of his father saying that there would be a worker coming to Japan, but there was none.

Of course there was none.

Because this fucker wasn't supposed to be there.

The gas station door was opening and Yami ducked down behind the shrubs, flattening himself against the ground and watching a pair of shiny black dress shoes walk towards the car before climbing inside. He had tried to look up through the branches to see what kind of clothes they were wearing, but fuck his life if he had even gotten that far. No, the branches, those tiny million little sticks of branches of leaves, cut off his vision completely with a barrier of green and brown. And fuck him if his hair wouldn't have given him away should he raise his head more.

Yami only moved when he knew that the bastard was gone. As soon as the car took off, he finally sat up, dusted himself off, looked around curiously, picked some dispatched leaves out of his hair, and then ran to get back onto the path to school.

As expected, the stupid car was sitting in the same place it always was when he walked to school, a parking space that should have made it look inconspicuous but only seemed to make it even more noticeable.

He was halfway into the gate when his phone rang. His pockets were empty today, because there was a new rule that they would get their phones confiscated if they were seen on campus so he had stuffed it in his bag to be put on silent when he got on school grounds. Fuck the principal if he thought that he would cut him off from his family.

It was odd, but the hope that should have been there—the one where his stomach seemed to explode with warmth and possibilities that he was going home, that the car was really there to be able to take him back to Egypt discreetly—never came.

Instead a sense of dread filled him as he pulled his phone out and stared at the word "father" printed across the screen. He glanced around once and then twice before answering, not bothering to speak for a moment, as his father always wanted the first word when he spoke to him.

"Atem?"

"Hello."

"Ah, so you did answer."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Yes, father."

There was a rustling noise and the red eyes narrowed into slits of disdain. He swore to Ra if his father was working and was going to blame him later for being distracted because of this phone call he would go to Egypt and kill him.

"As I have already told you, the situation has gotten worse."

"I was not aware it was a  _situation_. Last I heard, it was a simple rumor that you were getting rid of."

A couple of students had paused to listen but were confused as to what language he was speaking in; he actually guessed it might have been his tone that had gained their attention, but he didn't dwell on it, instead keeping the phone at his ear and glaring at them so that they scattered.

"Don't use that tone with me!" his father spat loudly. "If you were here I would box you upside the ears."

Yami rolled his eyes and was about to sneer at him that maybe his little spies could do it, but the next words made his blood freeze in his veins.

"Not that it would be the only thing you have been doing lately to merit such a punishment. Do you realize how many emails I have gotten about you?"

He was growling and Yami was confused.

His eyes flickered around and settled on the car for a split second before they found themselves staring at the only group that had not fled while he was glaring—Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Ushio, and Tea.

"Pictures of you with some boy."

His phone nearly fell out of his hand.

Yami looked at the car again and then back before hissing, "He's just a student. We go to the same school. We have a project we're—"

"Just a student? He had better be. I did not raise a faggot."

 _No, but you did scar one for life_.

"Yes, father, just a student. We go to the same school."

"Ah, yes, how is school?"

Yami couldn't help it when his face twisted incredulously before barking, "Will you just fucking listen for five goddamned seconds?"

There was silence for a moment and then the sound of something being slapped down made Yami's ears ring.

"Do. Not. Speak. To. Me. In. Such. A. Way."

Yami didn't answer and instead glanced at the car again, staring for a split second before quickly turning away once more; no, it was better that they did not realize that he knew they were following him…

"Are you listening to me, boy?"

"Yes."

"Yes,  _what_?"

"Father. Yes. Father."

"Good. Now tell me about school."

"There isn't much to tell…" He glanced towards the group that was still watching him, trying to figure out what language he was speaking, and then realized slowly that Yugi actually  _was_ listening in; the way that his nose wrinkled up like that of a rabbit told him that much.  _Well fuck_. He turned away and stepped a few paces away, crossing his arm over his torso and propping his elbow against it, narrowing his eyes. "I have perfect grades, as I do every year. No fights. No trouble. I am the model student."

"You damn well better be."

"Of  _course_ I am," he snapped. "When have I ever been anything  _other_ than that?"

"I will get on a plane and find you in Japan and beat your ass so hard you won't be able to lower your ass to a chair for weeks," he snarled.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Don't waste the time or the effort. You still have to prove yourself, don't you? So, really, father, who are you to threaten me?"

And then his mouth opened and closed and his eyes looked ready to bug out of his head. Oh fuck, did he say that out loud?

Joey started laughing and Yami spun on him with a glare that made him stop for a split second before he started up again. Yami flipped him off and Yugi snickered before saying something to him that made the blond glare at him. Yugi made a show of holding his hands up and then glanced at Yami sideways, curiously.

Yami pulled the phone from his ear as the yelling started, looking at the car for a split second before turning away again, his attention turning to the sky and then his backpack and finally his phone again; had he run out of breath yet?

Putting the small white device near his ear, he found that his father had paused in his rants.

"Forgive me. I apologize. I do not know what came over me. I never meant to say such a thing." And then he bit back a laugh, pulling the phone away and biting his lip hard with a shake of his head. "You have my sincerest, humblest apologies. I am very grateful for all that you have done, father."

There was a low growling noise but nothing else for a long minute.

"You ungrateful brat."

"I am. I am very ungrateful. I am sorry. I will try harder."

"You had better." A long, loud sigh of exasperation made him roll his eyes and tap his foot on the concrete impatiently, glowering with his jaw set. "Now, tell me about this boy."

"He is a student at my school. I was partnered with him for a project."

"A project? That's it? Then why have I seen you coming and going from this house?"

"For the project. There are not enough hours in the day to do a project at school."

"You always did well here."

"Yes, but this requires two people and it is forty-five percent of my grade. I cannot just do all the work in one day."

"You're making excuses."

"This is a  _public_ school! I am expected to do things a certain way."

"Boy."

"I am sorry, father. Please forgive me."

"Humph." He let out a breath of annoyance. "Very well. I forgive this."

"May I inquire something, father?"

"Yes, you may."

"How did you know about this…boy I am doing the project with? You said you  _saw_ me going to and from his home?"

Now Yugi was staring with wide eyes and the others were confused out of their minds as they watched him; all they really understood was that he had said one word a million times now and it was getting on their nerves that they didn't understand what he was saying.

"Someone has been sending me pictures"—Yami immediately looked at the car; did his father trust him so little that he would send another to spy on him? But then…why now? Why not before? Yami had sound instincts and he knew when someone was watching him and he had never encountered the feeling except for the last three weeks which meant this car had only been following him for that amount of time—"as blackmail, saying that you are a faggot."

Yami cringed at the word but then shook his head. "I am not, father."

"Good. Because I did not raise you to be one."

 _No, you just tortured me a little_.

"He is a former employee. He wants his job back and so is set upon blackmailing me."

"Former?"

"I would not let him near a bitch if he were to ask it."

Yami thought this statement over for a moment and then cringed. "Has he added to the rumors?"

"Keep your focus on your goddamned grades, boy. And keep your mouth shut. I don't have time to clean up any messes you make."

"I will, father."

"Good boy. You would make your ancestor proud, Atem."

He bared his teeth. "I need not make him proud. He is already  _dead_."

"Do not speak of the pharaoh this way."

"He is  _dead_ , father. I think it does not matter how I speak of him."

"Boy—"

"I am sorry, father. Yes, I will make him proud."

For a moment he did not reply and then finally, he growled, "You had better."

"I will."

"Good."

And, as usual, he hung up without even a simple goodbye.

Yami looked at his phone for a moment and then lowered the volume to silent before starting towards the gate again; immediately Joey stepped in his path.

"Woman problems, huh?"

He gave him a blank look and quietly, Yugi offered, "It was the best I could think of" in Arabic.

"What did you tell them?" he demanded, turning his head sharply.

"She saw you with another girl. You were trying to tell her that you didn't cheat on her. She didn't listen to you."

Yami shot him a look of pure frustration before turning to Joey. "It is none of your business, first of all, and I would appreciate it if you kept your nose out of it," he said calmly, stepping around him.

"That's what you get for cheating," Tea snarled at him.

He turned slowly and then looked at her, tilting his head. "And this is why you cannot get a boyfriend, because you don't understand anything and then expect too much when someone expects nothing. You are clingy, self-centered, annoying, maniacal, bitchy, and I hope whoever is stuck with you later in life can teach you a little about humility. Because your personality now is disgusting."

The brunette's mouth fell open and Yami truly  _debated_ ripping into her for that slap that she'd given Yugi, especially now that it seemed to ring in his ears at this confrontation, but bit it away at the last second; if he did that, it would mess up their little group's dynamics and make them seem a little more friendly than they ever actually  _should_ be considering their status in the school's "hierarchy"—bad boys and geeks were  _not_ meant to interact and make friends. And he couldn't risk that being discovered at all. Not when it could result in a  _whole lot_ more than just a simple little backlash amongst them.

But it was there, burning the tip of his tongue and leaving his skin crawling, because who the  _fuck_ gave her the right to do that? She deserved to be knocked down a peg and Yugi had jumped in to protect him when he saw that he was flailing. It was the least he owed him but it would be devastating if he did so now.

But it was so tempting and he wanted to do something to show Yugi that he was grateful for it, especially considering all of the stuff that had happened. Plus, he had a feeling that maybe Yugi thought he was still upset about the phone issue because they hadn't interacted since then.

It was far from true to say that Yami had been avoiding him but he could understand it if Yugi saw it that way.

"Would the rest of you like to hear why you are alone too? How about you, Joey? Would you like to know why Mai does not like you? How about what Miho thinks of you, Tristan? Yugi, would you like to know why Tea was never into you?"

"I don't care about that," Yugi snapped abruptly. "I'm over her. But please, Yami, tell us why Ushio could never get a girl in a million years."

Ushio glared at the smaller boy who merely smiled sweetly from where he sat on the outdoor lunch table, kicking his feet and blinking wide eyes up at him, looking purely amused and adorable in his stance.

The others kind of smirked at this and then looked at Yami pointedly, all but Tea who was seething.

"Well, you're abusive, first of all. You act as if you know everything. You use violence as a way of motivation and it's sickening. You bat out of your league. You try to make people fall in debt to you by beating up others and saying you did it for them. You micromanage everything. And, according to sources I shall not name…" He leaned forward and whispered, "You have a micro-penis."

Ushio let out a roar of a noise while the others howled with laughter.

Yami slipped his phone into his pocket and glanced at Joey. "Mai will never go out with you because you are selfish. You do not take care of your own appearance. You look like a golden retriever. You smell like one. You act like you know things you don't. Plus, you bullied Yugi for two years even after you became friends. She thinks you're cute but your personality sucks. That is why Mai won't date you."

Joey blinked a few times and then looked rather pointedly at Yugi who gave him a look that was a mix between a grimace and a frown. Yami studied this for a single split second, noting both expressions and realizing slowly that Joey was going to make it a point for Yugi to make him seem that much better, to gain advice he didn't deserve. He wondered vaguely if the small spitfire of a teen would do it.

"Tristan, Miho is a good-for-nothing gold digger. You don't meet her standards money-wise. You don't speak in third person—thank Ra, because if you did, I'd beat the shit out of you. There is only room for one third-person idiot in this school." He rolled his eyes; this was one of the best things about being best friends with Mai—she gossiped like crazy and she told it all to him because she  _knew_  that he wasn't about to be the one to repeat all of it to everyone else. "You're too willing to bend over backwards for her. You don't put up a fight. You let her walk all over you—in fact, you let  _every_ girl walk all over you if they're pretty enough. You don't like the color yellow and her nickname is Yellow-chan and Ribbon-chan for a goddamned reason. You eat the cafeteria food. You don't always look your best. She likes you, but you're not really good enough because of the money thing. But I bet if you started to adore yellow like she does, maybe she would go out with you despite the financial dependency she harbors."

Tristan went wide-eyed while Yami started past them but was stopped when Joey stepped in front of him again. "You didn't do Yugi's."

"He said he didn't want to know."

"Yeah, but none of us said we wanted to know either."

"Fine." He turned his head and Yugi sat up a little straighter, staring intensely. "Yugi, you're the bad boy. You're the leader of this little group here. You had a crush on a girl for three years. You boosted her ego and made her a total bitch. I forgive you for that though."

Yugi smirked at him and shook his head.

"That aside, your attire. That choker around your neck and the sleeveless tops, the bracelets and armbands and the chain necklace you wore with those tight skinny jeans a few weeks ago all make you look like some kind of bondage slave."

Yami wondered if they noticed that they weren't doing the project a few weeks ago and had taken the entire week in mention off three weeks ago for them to do other things, mostly because Yugi had said that his friends were being pains about wanting him to hang out with them and his own cousins had grown a little discontent with his lack of presence to pull pranks and mess around with, both of them agreeing to a week to just spend time with the others and not have the focus be on the project.

But only Yugi seemed to because his eyes sparked the slightest bit, obviously remembering seeing Yami with Bakura and Malik when the two of them had decided that he ate too healthy and they needed to "junk him up a little". Yami had been picking out something along the lines of donuts when he'd heard Yugi's name after Joey shouted for him to go over there; when he had looked up, the smaller teen had come running, pausing for a split second when he spotted him before turning and following Joey's voice when the blond only proceeded to get louder and others around him started getting pissed. Bakura and Malik had gotten over to his side at that moment, whistling little cat calls and then his silver-haired cousin had the audacity to whistle loud enough for Yugi's group to turn around while Yami fled down the neighboring aisle and Malik burst out laughing. Yami had run into Yugi quite literally a little later when he was picking out ice cream and the smaller teen came around the corner in a rush, the two of them colliding while Yugi merely smirked and winked at him before running off with Yami watching him with raised eyebrows and a confused expression.

He still wasn't sure what the wink was about. Had Yugi run into him on purpose? But then, no one was around, so that didn't make much sense. The only reason he could see Yugi willingly running into him outside of school was if he was trying to make a scene with his friends. But none of them had been around and not even Bakura and Malik had seen.

The others were howling with laughter while Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly though his smirk didn't leave; no, he wasn't mad, his eyes were full of complete and utter laughter…and incredulously enough, a small hint of lust.

"And that's fine, it's your own choice. BDSM all you fucking want, but don't advertise it. It's…a little intimidating and insulting all at once. Like, someone would want to fuck you and then they'd think, 'Well, what the fuck do you think he's been up to?' or 'Oh, he's got a lot of experience, so I don't know if I want to' or something along those lines. And then there's the whole bad boy reputation."

Yugi's smirk widened. Yami hadn't seemed too intimidated when they were rolling around under the sheets. But the way that he said this, the gleam that entered his eyes in the very bottom of his pupil, where the red and black bled into each other, very clearly stated that he was uncomfortable in admitting this.

"That and the BDSM kind of thing you've got going on makes you seem a little punk, gothic maybe? It's intimidating and insulting too. Makes you look like you have  _too_ much experience, like you might want to fuck someone in an alley and never call them again."

The laughter split the air in loud timbres that seemed to make it vibrate.

"So, everyone thinks, 'I don't want to be fucked in an alley' and you know, it's kind of fucked up because you have that whole…baby-fat thing going for you. Cherubic, I guess. Anyways, you have that going for you and then you have punk-fuck-you-in-an-alley going for you and it's just too fucking much at one time. See, say if…um…Ushio were to do that, it'd be okay because he looks like a fucking bondage freak anyways."

Yugi let out a laugh and smirked at the massive boy who let out a growl of a noise while the others cracked up harder.

"See, because the muscles thing just kind of throws you off. So it'd be okay if he did his hair in a goddamned black and blue Mohawk and started piercing himself everywhere"—his head snapped back to Yugi and looked him over with suspicious eyes—"Do you have a piercing?"

He shook his head, laughing. He almost said he would know if he had a piercing but then bit it back when he remembered the other four idiots with him. He wondered vaguely what Yami would do if he  _did_ have a piercing, the thought making his lips twist into a wide smirk.

"Oh…well, anyways, you get someone like Ushio and you're expecting kinky ass shit because of all the muscles so you're going to expect a pierced micro over there because that is what some kind of punk-muscle guy would have, right?" he continued, sparing Ushio a half-assed glance; honestly, with the way Yugi was staring at him so possessively, his eyes smoldering with slightly dilated pupils and a haze to his darkened gaze, it was rather hard to look away. "So then you have that cherubic bondage slave BDSM punk-fuck-you-in-an-alley thing and it's just not good."

Yugi snickered and his lips twitched up into a wider smirk, eyes darkening and making him look almost as if he were going to jump off the table and fuck him right then and there; Yami wouldn't be surprised if that was exactly what was going through his head at that moment.

"Anyways, your attitude too. So, you have that smartass thing going for you—good for you by the way, because little bits like you normally don't have the balls to do that—and then you have that whole…how would you describe it…?" He thought it over for a moment, crossing his arms and drumming his fingers over his left elbow before continuing. "You have that whole good boy attitude thing at the same time. Like, you're incredibly nice and kind. So then it's like, 'Well, what the fuck? Can't he just make up his fucking mind on who the fuck he wants to be? I'm kind of tired of this game.' But what is  _worse_ is the fact that you have all of this wrapped up into one persona and if you were dating someone, it would be a wonder of who the fuck you would be when they came home. It would be like, 'Well, maybe if I'm good, he won't fuck me as hard' or 'Maybe if I play with him a little, he'll be nice' or 'I hope he's not in the mood for it rough cause I'm still tired from the last time we did it like that' or 'Oh god, I hope he isn't expecting alley sex' and stuff like that. Honestly, I think anyone with you would get a fucking headache."

Now they were all laughing and Yami slipped past them while Joey was leaning against Tristan to avoid falling over. He felt eyes on the back of his head, knowing without a doubt that Yugi was watching him go, but ignored it in order to get inside before the first bell rang.

* * *

"A headache, huh?" Yugi commented, making him look up in surprise, staring at him from the mirror.

"Did I mention an ulcer? I think you would probably give them an ulcer too," Yami added thoughtfully.

"No, you didn't mention an ulcer."

Yami shrugged his shoulder dismissively and then dried his hands off; Ra, he hated the boys' bathroom but he really needed to pee so badly it wasn't even funny. At least this bathroom was clean for the most part. The last bathroom he had been into, on the bottom floor, when he was a freshman and had never exactly encountered a public bathroom in the first place, had piss everywhere and someone had even pulled out a piece of shit in toilet paper and left it on the ground.

He had fled and, of course, by that point, traumatized, he had fought off needing to pee because he was too fucking grossed out to bother.

"Well then, am I dealing with an angel or a demon?"

"Can't I be a fallen angel?"

"That's no better."

"Hmm…then I guess you're dealing with the demon this time."

"Am I?" he commented, turning around and staring at him, leaning against the porcelain sink and tilting his head to the side as he looked him over. "And why is that?"

"Well, maybe because you called him out?"

"Hmm. Well that's rather different. I don't remember worshipping Satan this morning."

Yugi let out a small laugh and shook his head, moving towards him. "You're kind of funny."

"I try."

He raised an eyebrow and pressed against him, pushing him further into the sink and looking up at him through his lashes, smirking. "Do you, Yami?"

"Not really. It's actually natural. Sarcasm and bluntness are my forte."

"Lies and fucking around are mine."

"Hmm. Well, that's because you're a slut."

For a moment Yugi's jaw clenched but then relaxed again as he pressed his hips against the taller boy's; Yami curled his lip back slightly in an effort to keep the moan from escaping him.

"We have more fun than the rest of you."

"No, you have more STDs than the rest of us."

"Not if we're careful."

"Bareback doesn't seem very careful to me."

"Yeah, but you're a goody-goody so I knew you wouldn't have anything."

"You trust too much in stereotypes."

"Some of them have some truth to them."

Yami narrowed his eyes and then raised an eyebrow. "Did you follow me in here or something?" he commented.

Yugi gave him a small smirk. "And if I did?"

"I'd have to consider getting a restraining order."

"But where's the fun in that?"

His teeth nipped at the skin on his jaw and Yami shifted his legs to move one between Yugi's, making the smaller boy spread them some for him just enough to let his knee settle there.

"Do I give you a headache?"

His breath was hot when it ghosted over his jaw and Yami gripped the sink harder. "No, I can handle you," he breathed, biting his tongue to keep the moan inside; he found himself struggling to quell the noise when Yugi nipped him again and then gently pulled on the skin there. "I'm not as simple-minded as most. Two sides to every coin, after all…"

"Oh, of course." His voice got low and husky. "Ambassador's son has to be open-minded, right?"

Yami barked out a laugh at the irony of the comment and Yugi smirked before pulling away and glancing out the door and back. "Are you expecting someone?" the red-eyed teen asked quietly, frowning; if this was a setup…

"No, that's why I'm checking." Hands found his hips and settled there before a large, wide smirk crossed his face as he turned back. "I want you to fuck me."

"Right now?"

What a stupid question. Yami scrunched his face up at his own stupidity.

"No, next year," Yugi spat. "Yes,  _now_!"

He gave him a slightly cold look before hissing softly, "I can't."

"What? Why not? We're completely alone—"

"Yugi, we're in school. Do you  _really_ want to be fucked in a disgusting boys' bathroom?"

"Not just any boys' bathroom.  _This_ boys' bathroom."

"What's so special about this one?"

"It's mine."

"What? You don't own a school's bathroom."

"Maybe not, but it's the only one I use because it's so far from the others and most people won't come this far. Why? Because it's fucking on the sixth goddamned floor. Most people don't have classes up here. So why are  _you_ up here?"

"I was going up to the roof and then I realized I had to pee…so I came here. And apparently my copycat followed me."

Yugi snorted and then grabbed his wrist; he failed to miss the way that Yami's face screwed up slightly when he did this, but he ignored it in favor of getting them into the largest stall, locking it and pinning him to the wall, kissing him lazily. Yami didn't respond at first so of course, there was pinching, but instead of the hip, he got him in the inner thigh and pinched a small trail up to his penis which stirred from the slight brushing of his hand against his uniform pants.

"This…is utterly disgusting," Yami hissed at him before moaning when Yugi rolled his eyes and kissed up and down his neck, his hands moving of their own accord to pull the other's jacket off and strip him of his shirt. And his mouth was working without much persuasion, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his head telling him not to, and taking one of the smaller boy's nipples into his mouth, making circles with his tongue and nipping a few times while he twisted and rubbed the other, making the nubs grow hard before pulling back and looking his handiwork over for a moment.

Yugi's hands found purchase in his hair, moaning softly as the taller boy swallowed hard and then began unbuckling his belt, pulling down his pants and boxers at once, seeing his penis come out and stand instantly. Yami honestly could not understand how he was comfortable with this all, actually doing this without thinking about it, but then he probably could have boiled it back down to his father's phone call.

Either way, he didn't think about it when he maneuvered a finger between Yugi's legs and prodded at his entrance, sinking the tip of his nail into the ring of muscle so that he let out a small yelp of surprise before feeling Yami's finger enter him only to stop when he was up to his knuckle inside of him.

It was odd, and shocking for both of them, when Yugi started bucking against the digit before Yami could even make a move to pump. But when he looked up, the smaller boy had a devilish little smirk on his face that made his lips twitch up into one of his own, amused and fighting back the urge to laugh before slipping in a second finger. Yugi paused for a moment and then went back to bucking against his fingers, a little surprised when Yami started twisting them to seek out his prostate.

And then, of course, Yugi lost patience. Making a hissing noise, he maneuvered off Yami's fingers and then started unbuckling his pants before throwing them and his boxers down. "Hurry up," he spat.

Yami rolled his eyes and then glanced at the toilet for a moment before turning back to him. "I guess you're getting on your back because I'm not doing doggy style," he said with narrowed eyes.

He'd spent too much fucking time groveling on his hands and knees to make his father forgive him and he would be damned if he would make Yugi do that, for sex or not; he didn't ever want to actually have to be on his hands and knees if he had the power to stay on his feet and he would not put another in that position by choice. It seemed downright degrading by all means and he refused to do so.

Yugi gave him an annoyed look. "I thought everyone wanted doggy style."

"Well, then you're wrong because I hate it so either get on your back or fuck off."

Yugi hesitated for a moment and then grabbed his jacket and shirt and Yami's as well and made a small half-assed pillow-bed for his back and head, laying on it and giving Yami a pointed look and yet Yami was staring at his uniform jacket with a small frown before shaking it off and pulling Yugi's shoes, pants and boxers all the way off, settling between his legs.

" _Ow_!" Yugi spat when he got halfway in, glaring at him fiercely.

"You know, if you had just let me get in the last fucking finger, this wouldn't be happening."

"You didn't scissor!"

"I do it with  _three_ fingers, not  _two_."

"Oh please, they come out at the same length!"

"Maybe for you, but I have a lot more dexterity to my hands." To prove himself, Yami lifted his right hand and spread his fingers; unlike Yugi's, they actually did have more dexterity even without comparison to just two. So the three fingers really did make more sense than just two.

"What the fuck? You're like…ET with that shit going on. Can you do that V-thing with your fingers like they do on  _Star Trek_?"

Yami gave him such a weird look Yugi almost blushed before realizing the look was one of pure confusion; Yugi's mouth fell open.

"What the fuck? You've never heard of  _Star Trek_?"

"My father is the ambassador of Egypt. You  _heard_ my conversation with him. Do you  _really_ think someone like  _that_ would let his son participate in childish things such as  _watching TV_?"

"Hmm…and here I thought it was just because Egypt didn't have the channel."

Yami curled his lips back and bared his teeth while Yugi awkwardly held his hands up in surrender. "How bad does it hurt?"

"Not too bad. It burns like all hell though."

"It might help if you tried to relax."

"Might help if my ass wasn't on fire."

"Have you eaten any spicy things?"

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question."

"No."

"Then your ass is not on fire."

Yugi barked out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, so witty."

"Well, I think I am, considering that you aren't fighting me anymore."

"Huh?" Yugi looked confused for a moment before blinking and realizing slowly that Yami was seated inside of him, bottomed out in his ass.

"So, are you okay then?"

Yugi twisted and then bucked against him as a response, raising an eyebrow in challenge. Yami smirked at him before giving a small laugh and beginning to move in a slow motion, rocking his hips back and forth, sliding in and out of him before grabbing his hips and moving faster with every sixth thrust. He leaned over and bit Yugi's skin, making him yelp before moaning and mewling, the noises low in tune as they always were.

He shifted and moaned softly while Yami pulled his teeth away from the job of nipping and then looked over the small bite mark that would fade in a few minutes. Yugi continued bucking his hips into him, shameless in his movements, holding his shoulders hard and mewling, his nails digging into Yami's skin with enough pressure to scratch but not break skin.

He remembered all too well the pain from his own broken skin when Yami had bottomed so he was careful to keep in mind the pressure he asserted. Yami came before him but kept thrusting until finally he released on their torsos, feeling exhausted by it all as he breathed hard and watched as Yami supported himself on shaky arms before pulling away and out of him, sitting back on his knees and looking at him.

"What?" he muttered breathlessly.

Yami was about to shake his head to dismiss the possibility of an answer but instead his inquiry came out of his mouth unbidden. "What made you want this?"

Yugi smirked wily and then breathed out hard when he looked around the stall for a few seconds before turning back. "You."

"Me?"

"This morning. Pointing out my flaws."

" _That_ got you hot and bothered?" he asked, eyes wide and incredulous.

Yugi burst out laughing. "No, the fact that you weren't afraid to do it like someone else might have been. You didn't care that it was me or the others. It just came out of your mouth so easily. It was actually really hot."

Yami wrinkled his nose. "You're crazy and I'm fucking stupid to have done this."

"I think that's what everyone says when they have sex like this. I mean, the setting. This isn't something you can tell your kids and grandchildren about."

The red-eyed teen laughed softly and then let out a small breath before muttering, "Which uniform is which?"

Yugi gave him a dirty look before snickering, "What? Are you going to walk around with cum on your body all day?"

Yami blinked and then looked down before hanging his head and groaning, "Goddamn it, I forgot about that."

"Already? I thought I was more memorable than that," Yugi teased before sitting up and twisting around, looking at the two shirts and jackets before picking one set off the ground and handing it to him. "I'm pretty sure this one is yours."

Yami looked it over for a moment before tilting his head and shaking it of its wrinkles, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do with it now. He had no desire to put it on anymore.

"You look like someone just strangled your puppy," Yugi growled before grabbing a bunch of toilet paper and thrusting it at him. "Here, just try to clean it off or something, moron."

The red eyes glanced at him briefly before taking the paper product and giving a small sigh and shake of his head before starting to wipe at the liquid on his chest, wrinkling his nose. "If this…if it ever happens again, fucking bring condoms, damn it."

"Oh, I'll try to remember that along with a pillow and a blanket. What the fuck do I look like? A sex fairy? I can't just fucking make shit appear out of nowhere. And I  _highly_ doubt I'll remember that bullshit later."

Yami flipped him off and continued wiping; it wasn't the best cleaning job he had ever done but at the moment he was glad that the stupid school had really shitty scratchy toilet paper because it didn't tear like others might have.

He had a brief moment where he wondered if this was even fucking toilet paper because it seemed more like something you would get off a paper towel roll, but kept this in his head rather than voicing the thought.

"Yeah, I don't think it's that soft either."

Yami looked up, confused.

"The toilet paper," Yugi snapped, gesturing. "It's not soft."

"Oh. Uh…yeah," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

Yugi snorted softly and then went about pulling his uniform on, dumping some toilet paper in the toilet and flushing before turning to him. "So, my house after school?"

Yami looked up and shook his head. "Can't."

For a long minute neither of them spoke as Yami dressed again and then finally Yugi rolled his eyes and muttered, "All right, fine, I'll bite. Why not?"

"Because I can't. We need to keep our distance because I'm being followed."

"Followed?"

Yami dumped his own soiled toilet paper in the toilet and flushed but did not respond, turning and walking off, hoping to avoid having this conversation at any point, only to find it thrust on him ten minutes later when he went to buy lunch.

Phones were going off, one by one, people were talking and whispering and when Yami walked into the room, everyone was looking at him; he was confused as to what the fuck was going on and so looked around curiously before turning back. Oh, yep, they were all looking at him. How lovely.

And then his own phone went off.

And his heart fell into his stomach to be dissolved in acid.

A picture of him and Yugi kissing.

How lovely.

Yami blinked a few times before shaking his head. What the…? Was this some kind of stunt for attention? He slowly angled his head towards where he thought Yugi would be with his table of friends, but no, he wasn't there.

"Yami…"

He turned his head and swallowed hard as Mana held her phone out to show him the text, shaking her head.

"I don't understand…is this real?"

Is  _this real_? Yami wondered vaguely, staring at the screen with a single blink of his eyes, furrowing his brows. No, it couldn't be. There was no way. He snatched the phone from her to inspect the picture.

_Please, Ra…_

He blinked long and slow once and then swallowed hard. No, it was real. That was him and Yugi, but it was taken…from Yugi's window…like someone had climbed the tree. Like someone had been planning this.

"Yugi!" he spat viciously, too low for Mana to hear. "That little…"

He handed the phone back but didn't say anything.

"What? That little what?"

Yami spun around and opened his mouth, baring his teeth, but then the small teen's phone went off as well and he looked it over before going completely still, his face paling to look almost paper-white, eyes widening momentarily before a thick swallow bought him enough time to regain some of the color in his skin.

He realized exactly how it looked too, apparently.

From the angle of the picture, it looked like someone had sat in that tree and waited until they got the perfect shot of the two of them kissing. Like maybe Yugi had set it up, like maybe he had told someone to sit there, like maybe he had kissed Yami to make it the perfect shot…

And then there was laughter and whispers and Yami couldn't stop glaring while Yugi was a second from freaking out, but no, one of them had to stay sane. They couldn't both freak out. That would help no one.

So he decided to let it swarm him for a minute, hyperventilating with the force of it, and then pushed it away just as fast, looking at Yami and growling, "Who the fuck sent this?"

"I always knew that Yugi was a freak. I mean, the collar says that, but to drag Yami down  _with_ him? That's so sad."

"Say it to my face, you little bitch," Yugi snarled at the cheerleader who scurried out of his reach, too scared to look back at the two blazing blue-violet eyes. "Anyone else have something to say?"

Everyone fell silent for a long minute, some looking at each other and others turning away from him and seeming to hide from his wrath.

"Who the fuck sent this out? I want names, damn it."

Yami stared at him for a moment and then closed his eyes, muttering, "It doesn't matter" before turning and striding out with his head still high.

Yugi watched him go and then turned back, searching the crowd for any guilty faces before singling out the two smug looks in the back; of course it was those two. Why the fuck not?

"I'll tear your faces off," he spat at them before turning and walking out.

* * *

"You're just…Yami, you're just confused, right? I mean, this can't be for real…"

Yami glanced at the girl next to him and then narrowed his eyes into slits, not bothering to answer, feeling it was better not to confirm nor deny it.

"I could have gotten AIDS from just  _kissing_ you!" Tea sneered at him viciously. "You slept with him and you're a fucking faggot. What the  _fuck_?"

A well-manicured hand shot out and smacked her across the cheek, sending her stumbling; Yami looked up with wide eyes to see Mai standing over his desk and spotted Joey and Ushio and Tristan nearby and even Yugi was standing a few feet away, startled by the smack as it had happened just as he was about to take his seat.

"You fucking  _bitch_! He should have been afraid of catching something from  _you_! You piece of shit whore!"

Yami got up from his desk. "Mai—"

A teacher pulled Mai away by the arm but she was still screaming, "I'm getting in trouble for smacking that stupid cunt but you're going to let that little bitch get away with talking to someone like  _that_? That's such fucking bullshit!" while pointing at Tea who was being escorted by another teacher in a similar manner.

Vivian whispered a weak, "Mai will calm down. She's always hated Tea."

Yami gave her a sideways glance before turning his head and watching them escort Mai, eyes wide as she winked at him despite the fact that she was supposed to turn around; he would have gone after her but she shook her head slightly and instead he forced himself to sit back down, staring at his things in pure shock.

There were giggles and comments being shot around before a book was slammed and everyone scurried to their seats; Yami was not blind, so he did not pretend not to notice that everyone around him moved their desks a little farther from him than normal and Joey leaned all the way away from Yugi who rolled his eyes at the blond and stared pointedly at the teacher.

"I am  _well_ aware of the events that transpired during lunch. This is your one and only warning. My classroom  _will_ be respected so you  _will_ keep your personal opinions and comments to yourselves or I will  _remove_ you from my class. Now...where were we...?"

Yami was actually the last to leave the room and he did so so slowly that the teacher gave him an odd look before saying, "Yami." When he looked up, he was visibly startled out of his thoughts, barely stopping himself from dropping his books on the ground. "You're one of my best students—ever, really—and I just wanted you to know that things will blow over and you're going to be okay."

He nodded a little, though he looked just as unconvinced as he felt, and whispered a simple "Thank you" before walking out of class.

* * *

"Here, you are officially emancipated."

Yami stared at the stack of papers in his hand as if they might sneak out and bite him if he took his eyes off them for even a second. His fingers trembled slightly and his grip felt weak but his knuckles were white with the force he was exerting so he knew he couldn't he holding them  _that_ loosely.

"You're going to be okay, Yami."

He looked up but his cousin was already gone.

* * *

Yami really had never hoped to see this number on his caller ID again.

"F-father?"

"You disgraceful little brat. What did I tell you?"

"T-to stay away from boys. I never—"

"I don't have time for your excuses, boy."

"B-but they're not…I didn't—Father,  _please_ —"

"Quit your pathetic begging," he sneered back coldly. "You ungrateful little bastard."

He felt weak when he sat down, laying his head against the table so that his cheek would cool against the smooth surface of it.

"How could this fucking happen?"

"I don't…I don't know."

"This is fucking impossible. I raised you  _right_."

_No you didn't. You're more fucked up than I am. No one like you could ever raise a decent child. This is your fault. You're the fuck up, not me._

Of course, those words never left his head.

"It's going to be up to you to fix this."

"I…I don't know what in all I can do…"

"You've fucking ruined me. Your mother."

"I'm sorry…"

"You disgraceful little brat. I don't know who you think you are. I am your father, and you are my son. You will show me the respect I deserve. I thought allowing you to go to Japan like you wanted would help make you a better political figure, but it has turned you into  _nothing_ but a  _disgraceful piece of shit faggot_! With you being such a fuck up, I'm sure my wife will hate you by the end of the day."

Yami felt something break inside of him.

_My wife._

Not _your mother_.

"Father, please," he begged, feeling himself breaking in places he didn't even know he existed. "I never—I know better. I would never do it. I'm sorry. Please don't do this—"

He hung up and Yami stared at the phone blankly before trembling and feeling the first tears fall.

* * *

Yami could not remember how long he had cried. It must have been hours, but, in the way that things had changed so drastically over the last week, he wouldn't be surprised if hours had somehow morphed into days and maybe he was a year behind the rest of them. His teachers sometimes gave him pitying glances, all but his history teacher who would give him a single look that told him to rally up before he would turn away again.

Oddly, despite how detached he felt from his own body, he still did the work, still got high marks, still had all A's. The only difference was that now everyone looked at him as if he caught some kind of disease and whispers never stopped, snickers and giggles always happened, and when he was alone with another boy in the bathrooms, they normally tried to make him their bitch.

He was getting tired of it. He had lashed out so many times to keep them from getting in his pants that it was not even funny. He could never keep count of it all.

But maybe it was easier in the way that he was stuck in this never-ending cycle because Yugi was no better off than he was; the smaller boy constantly got into fights now, constantly had bruises on his arms, constantly got into verbal spats with the other students. He was no longer with his group and on more than one occasion Yami had witnessed Joey making fun of him and Ushio calling him his bitch.

Tristan stayed out of this every single time. He didn't turn a blind eye towards it, instead watching it as it progressed and grew worse, and he never messed with Yami, even after he was the only one in the bathroom with him.

"It was Tea and Joey."

Yami didn't look up.

"I thought you should know that."

After a brutally long minute the red-eyed boy finally raised his head and looked at the boy's reflection. "It doesn't matter."

"Aren't you going to get them back?"

"For what? Exposing me for the freak I am? I didn't need help with that."

"You're not—"

"Just leave. I don't need this right now."

He started out the door but stopped and turned around and Yami finally turned his head to stare at him.

"There's nothing wrong with being gay. I don't even understand why everyone is freaking out like this."

_Because we're not the same. Yugi is the bad boy. I'm the quiet nerd. We were never supposed to interact._

Yami turned away and listened to his steps as he walked out again.

 _Was the attention worth it, Yugi_?

How many times had he thought this but never asked?

How many times had he wanted to scream this at the top of his lungs?

But he was just as much at blame as the other boy. He could have stopped himself at any time. He could have pushed Yugi away at  _any_ time.

And yet not once had he done so.

Not once had he stopped seeking him out for a distraction. Not once had he even  _tried_.

He couldn't stop himself from the whispers in the back of his head, the ones that asked if the distraction was worth it, if he should have tried to snuff his disgusting curiosity and dangerous need for another being close to him before any of this could grow to such a point.

Was it worth the distraction?

Was it worth the rebellion?

Was it worth the tears? And the pain? And the heartache?

He pushed himself away from the sink and walked out again, not the least bit surprised when another student grabbed him and he had to spin around to punch them across the temple to make them leave him alone.

"Yami."

He stopped short on the way up the stairs to the roof. Mana and Mahado, the only two so far to keep by his side. Even Mai had been easier to push away than the twins.

"I told you guys not to do this."

"But you're our friend," Mana muttered, and Yami didn't really have to look at her to know she was still favoring her right side after she was thrown down that flight of stairs; he didn't have to look at Mahado either to know the bruises on his face.

"No, Mana, I'm not. I  _was_ your friend but I'm not anymore," he snapped, glaring at them. "I told you this before and I will tell you this again. Things will only get worse and you're both just going to be getting yourselves hurt more than you already are. I'm not going to be responsible for that. So if you do this any longer, it's your own damn fault, not mine. I don't care anymore. Leave me the fuck alone."

The blonde flinched and had tears in her eyes but her brother nodded slowly.

"You're right, Yami."

Mana stared at him in disbelief. "W-what?"

"You heard him, Mana. Things are only going to get worse. I don't want to stick around for that." He gave Yami a long, sad look. "I'm sorry, Yami."

"I am too, Mahado."

"B-but we can't just—"

"Yes, we can." He messed with the books in his arms. "Let's go. Just say goodbye and let's go."

Mana gave him a wide tearful look and then flung herself into his arms, hugging him tightly before pulling back, tears trailing down her cheeks; Yami nodded at her once and then all three of them turned and walked in opposite directions without a backwards glance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	11. A Little Buzzed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon), underage alcohol consumption, mentions of a suicide attempt, homosexual slander, abuse and near-death experience  
> Suicide Attempt Note: It's not a real suicide attempt but it could be conceived as one.  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "Not for this". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl to activate the Find function to highlight the words and skip to the third part where the lemon is finished.  
> Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...  
> Homosexual Slander Warning: The usual, use of the word "fag/faggot".  
> Abuse Warning: Descriptions of physical abuse are used in chapter.  
> Near-Death Experience Warning: I don't really know how to describe this aside from it's not self-inflicted and things are a little graphic in description.

Chapter XI: A Little Buzzed

"Cliff diving. I want to do it."

Bakura, Malik and Seto stopped their conversation mid-speech to look over at him with wide eyes.

"What?" his blond cousin muttered.

"Are you insane?" the brunet hissed.

"The fuck?" the silver-haired boy asked.

"Please?"

All three of them swapped looks and then turned back and shrugged slightly.

"When do you want to go?" Malik finally asked.

"Now. Today."

"Why not tomorrow or next week?" Seto inquired.

"No. It has to be today."

"Why?" Bakura demanded a little gruffly.

"Because I don't know when the hell I'll ever get up the nerve to do it again," Yami replied, shifting his weight back and forth. "And you three have done it before. I want to do it now."

Again the three of them swapped looks and then shrugged as they got up, nodding at him; it took about thirty minutes to get to the beach where they would jump, Yami looking down at the water and tilting his head curiously.

There was something that Bakura was forgetting and he knew it, he just couldn't grasp it as they all got out of the car; Malik was the one to lead the way up the side of the cliff's path and towards the top so that they could jump from the highest point.

The water was crashing violently against the rock wall beneath them and it sent chills of fear and intimidation and pure adrenaline through the red-eyed teen who stared with a bright gaze like a coming sunset.

"Are you ready?" Seto asked, looking over the edge and turning back to Yami.

Thank god the kid was not afraid of heights.

Yami stripped of his dark gray jacket and threw it on the ground, looking down at the water as it crashed a little more violently; Bakura felt a nagging sensation at the back of his head but he couldn't figure out what it was. Something about this entire situation made his spine chill with fear.

It was sort of warm, but maybe that was the black tank top and the dark gray skinny jeans talking. But the light breeze made him want to purr and that was far from his clothes speaking.

"All right. Just jump when—"

Yami sprang so fast they didn't even know how to react. Their cousin disappeared under the water where it crashed against the rocks and he didn't resurface immediately, the water covering him completely and hiding him from their sights. It was freezing beneath the smallest bit of a sunny patch that stretched for miles, but Yami wasn't bothered with the cold temperature. His eyes stayed closed as he pushed his way back to the surface. Oxygen was leaving his system too fast and he needed air before he ran out completely; he was kicking and pushing frantically towards the top but the lack of air made his head spin and the roar of the waves, even from underwater, made his eardrums pound violently only to be doubled with the throbbing of the blood in his veins.

Something grabbed him by the arm and for whatever reason, he realized slowly that it was Bakura; the silver-haired teen had apparently dove in after him, probably startled by his failure to reappear. As soon as they hit the surface Yami was gulping in air and feeling salt water burn a path down his throat as he gasped and squeezed his eyes open into slits, giving the taller teen a look before breathing harder.

Bakura pulled him along towards the shore, surprised when he spotted his other two cousins had not jumped just yet.

"Damn it, I knew I forgot about something!" he hissed.

"What the fuck happened?" Seto demanded, running over with Malik on his heels.

"He can't swim."

"What?" Seto spat.

"Of course he can't swim…" Malik muttered, shaking his head. "How the fuck did we forget about that?"

"Do you care to explain to me why you just jumped off a cliff when you can't even  _swim_? How the fuck does your brain work and tell you that it's  _okay_?" the brunet snarled at him coldly while Yami sat up and shook himself out, hands in his lap as he watched them; Bakura sat in the same position next to him, legs stretched out, hands in lap, just watching.

"Answer me, damn you!"

"Because I can!" Yami snapped. "Because I…I can."

"Because you can." Seto snorted and rolled his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "Because you can."

"Dude, if this was a suicide attempt, you brought the wrong people," Malik laughed, causing all three of them to look at him with wide eyes—Seto and Bakura because they didn't think about it and Yami because he couldn't figure out how that was supposed to be funny. "You're supposed to take people who  _don't_ give a fuck about you."

"Yeah, like Yugi," Bakura agreed.

And then all three of them were silent.

Yami stared in confusion as the three of them avoided his gaze, feeling as if he had just been witness to some kind of private joke and it was pissing him off by all means. "What? What the fuck is wrong with the three of you? Someone says Yugi's name and you all hide from me?"

"It's not…" Malik frowned and then scratched at the upper right half of his mouth, thinking hard. "Um…"

"It's just…"

"Look, Yami, we think you're a little too attached to that kid," Seto announced, cutting straight to the point and leaving nothing behind in his answer; Yami gave him a blank look and tilted his head in thorough confusion. "You're around him more than you are any of us."

He blinked. Was he?

He sought through his memory of the last two weeks. Oh yes, he had been around Yugi more often than he had his cousins. And not for the project. But because he had wanted to be around him. It was strange and awkward because it got a lot of stares and a lot of fucked up attention that he didn't want or care for, and he was adding fuel to the fire because that stupid car was still following him, but he never stopped.

He was lonely and his heart hurt and the only balm to it was Yugi himself.

Which was sickening by all means, because Yami had a really good idea of what that meant, but it was true and he had no other way around it.

Besides, Yugi was the reason he wanted to jump off the cliffs anyways…

He thought it over.

Was it a suicide attempt?

He didn't know anymore.

Ra, he didn't know  _anything_ anymore.

He had no idea about anything.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" Malik echoed.

"What are you, a fucking parrot?" Bakura barked. "He said maybe."

"For fuck's sake, are you deaf? You don't need to yell."

"Am I yelling?" the silver-haired teen asked too loudly.

Yami reached over and pinched his nose. "Blow."

Bakura gave him a small glare but followed instructions and then batted his hand away before nodding a little. "I'm good now."

Seto shook his head, looking at the sky with a small scowl before rolling his eyes. Oh, of course. He just  _had_ to be related to these three dimwits.

"If this wasn't a suicide attempt, then what was it?"

Yami shrugged. "Fun?"

"Fun?" Seto asked incredulously. "That's crap. You've never wanted to jump off a cliff a day before in your life."

"Well…not usually, but I wanted to this time," he muttered.

All three of them gave him worried looks before shaking their heads.

Yami ground his teeth together.  _So sorry for being such a big fucking inconvenience_.

* * *

Again, he really wasn't sure how he got there. Maybe the bartender got him a cab. Maybe he fucking walked. Either way, he wound up there again, plastered and tired and aching and feeling like his skin was on fire.

Yugi answered on the third knock, earphones in and a strange outfit of a black cotton sweater that hugged his upper body and a dark gray vest with black skinny jeans and some gray Converse. At first he looked surprised and then he burst out laughing and the noise made Yami's ears ring but he ignored it because his head was already buzzing and it took priority because honestly, he was starting to think he had flies in his head.

"Look who it is," he snickered, shaking his head before gesturing him inside, closing the door behind him and locking it with a roll of his eyes. "So…what brings you here? At"—he took a glance at his phone—"three a.m. on a Saturday?"

Three a.m.? Was it really three a.m.?

Hmm.

Well, that was certainly different from when he left at ten in the evening.

He pursed his lips, trying to think of an answer, but then fell short and shrugged before stumbling and then straightening again, confused by the lack of judgment.

Yugi laughed behind him and then grabbed his wrist, his other hand gripping his waist as he led him up the stairs and to the couch.

That burning was slowly dissipating and again, all it did was make Yami question himself before looking at him with wide eyes; Yugi got him to the couch before heading off into the kitchen and coming back with a cold coffee drink.

"I don't know if this will work or not, but it's coffee," the boy said thoughtfully, pursing his lips and looking at the ingredients on the back. Either this would help sober him up or it would put him to sleep. Milk and honey, caramel, coffee…two thousand other things he neither knew nor cared to know about.

Yami took it from him, looked it over, and then glowered as he put it down and turned to look at him; Yugi blinked a few times and then shrugged as he took his seat next to him, looking at the TV again.

"Hey."

He turned his attention towards the taller teen, raising an eyebrow. "I want to watch the wolves."

"Wolves?" Yami echoed, suddenly turning towards the TV with wide eyes and watching as a pack of them ran across the screen; Yugi smirked and crossed his legs, watching as well.

It was only when the show turned its attention towards lions that both of them turned away from the screen, Yugi asking, "What did you want earlier?" while Yami stared blankly and then scrunched up his nose.

"I don't know."

Yugi laughed at the way his words slurred together. Yami drunk was honestly a hilarious creature. "Okay then."

Yami tipped his head to the side and squinted at him before announcing, "You look like me."

And then he was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe, blue-violet gaze bright with their endless amusement as he stared at the red-eyed boy who looked confused before smiling widely and looking incredibly proud of himself.

"You're just noticing this?"

"Um…no?"

Yugi snickered and shook his head. "How much did you drink?"

Yami started to count on his fingers and then looked confused. "What?"

"I asked how much you drank."

"Um…" He went back to counting before holding his hands up. "Five of these."

"Fifty?" the smaller teen cried, wide-eyed and shocked.

Yami thought it over and then nodded slowly. "Mmhmm. Is that two times…ten?"

Yugi nearly choked on his own relief. Fuck, Yami was crazy. "Twenty."

"I think so? Maybe? No, I like fifty better. It  _sounds_ better."

He nearly cried he was laughing so hard.

"I…want…to fuck…you."

Yugi laughed again and shook his head, thinking he was joking before blinking wide eyes; oh crap, were they back to doing that again? Two weeks of them just sitting around and talking, sticking together because that was all they could do, and not once had this been brought up in discussion or otherwise.

"Uh…"

He nodded eagerly and then leaned forward and pressed his lips against his and Yugi laughed into his mouth when he felt his tongue rotating back and forth in confusion, batting at his before taking the opposite direction again. A drunken Yami meant hilarious make out sessions. That was a plus.

He moved a hand to the back of his neck and pulled his face closer and Yugi put his hands on either side of Yami's face before pushing back gently, feeling Yami yield to his touch and pull back with a scowl.

"Yami, we shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not?"

Was he… _pouting_?

Yugi barely stopped himself from laughing again. Yami had crossed his arms and was glaring, lips pursed and eyebrows drawn together, petulant in his posture, occasionally sniffing loudly.

"What the fuck did you do? Crack or something?" he muttered, rolling his eyes.

Yami tilted his head. "The white stuff?"

He felt a chill course through him. "Yami, tell me you didn't do…the white stuff."

He shook his head immediately. "There was no white stuff."

"Have you ever…done…the white stuff?"

Again, an immediate shake of his head. "I don't do drugs."

"Oh, thank god."

"Who?"

"G—Ra, Yami. Thank Ra."

Yami blinked and then nodded before frowning. "What am I thanking him for?"

Yugi snorted before shaking his head. "Yami, are you sure you want to fuck me?"

"Mmhmm. You're very pretty."

He wasn't sure whether to be insulted or flattered.

"But what about all the things going on?"

Yami didn't get it out of his mouth that this was  _why_ he got drunk. He started to, but then he stopped, and he didn't really understand in his haze why he did so, but he did. Instead he merely shrugged and then blinked.

Yugi made him feel good and that was what he wanted. To feel good.

Ra, what he wouldn't give to feel good right now…

At least the burning sensation was gone.

But the ache was still beneath his veins. And the exhaustion made his head feel heavy with something his hazy mind couldn't really pick up on.

"Please?"

Was he… _begging_?

Yami couldn't quite wrap his head around it and Yugi had just as hard a time grasping this concept.

"Yami, don't beg."

Was that what he was doing? Truly?

Yugi leaned forward and let one of his hands fist into his soft hair and the movement brought out a purr from Yami who looked confused even as he made the noise, almost as if he couldn't quite figure out how he was doing it, and Yugi smiled against his lips when he pressed them together.

"Not for this."

And Yami furrowed his brows, because he knew that statement from somewhere, because he had said it, but he couldn't really grasp  _why_ he ever said it.

Yugi didn't give him the answer and instead worked his mouth against his, let his tongue slip inside, let Yami play around by moving in circles around it, let him grab at his vest and pull him a little closer. He let him search his mouth, where that oh-so-sweet taste begged at his mind to be remembered but left him confused and tired from the effort of it all.

It took a moment, but Yugi managed to redirect his body's alignment to lay on the couch with his legs drawn up, open for Yami to slip between, unsurprised when Yami took up the space above him and decided to trade the task of kissing for breathing instead.

Yugi knew as well as a sober Yami would have that this was hardly the way to fix anything, as it had been the first night or the time that Yugi topped for the second time, but it was short-termed and it was what Yami needed.

And Yugi wanted the attention.

He so desperately craved it.

Because he was being deprived of it aside from snide comments and looks of disgust at school.

And he knew, in the back of his mind, that if it were not Yami, if it were just some random boy from school rather than him, it would be okay, because no one would care. But they were on separate sides of the spectrum, they were bad and good, smart and smartass, tiny and larger than life. Famous and…regular.

One's father was anti-gay and one's grandfather would be glad if Yugi would just get someone.

They were so completely opposite, but that was what made them fit.

Because of the opposition they brought with them, they balanced each other. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle. They could bleed into each other, feed off each other, and not worry about it later because it would be okay when they separated again. They fought and they tore into each other without remorse.

They bit and they scratched and they drew blood.

It was what they did.

And it was only done between them because no one else could take Yugi's inconsistency like Yami and no one could truly understand the red-eyed teen like Yugi.

They were broken in different places but that was what made them  _right_.

But, if only, if only, Yami was not who he was and Yugi wasn't either.

Maybe everything would be so much easier.

Yami was against his stomach now, pulled away, kissing little paths along the indent in his flesh and sticking his tongue in his bellybutton, swirling the wet muscle and humming in the back of his throat for a few seconds.

Yugi moaned and writhed beneath him, because the touch of his tongue was sinful, delicious in its corruption, and he loved it so much that it made his head spin with delight and his pants so tight that it hurt in the most satisfying of ways.

His nose pushed Yugi's shirt up to his chest, up to his neck, kissing at his ribs one after the other in a way that made Yugi tremble and wonder what was with him. Was this affection he was giving him induced by alcohol or was it real?

And…if it was real…what did he want from him?

Yugi trembled with the thought of what Yami might want. If he wanted a relationship, Yugi couldn't give him that.

They all ended in failure. His parents, his grandparents, even his great-grandparents. His aunts on his dad's side. The only solid couple that he knew of was his grandparents on his dad's side and he only met them once and knew that they only succeeded by manipulating the other—his grandfather made the money, his grandmother  _used_ the money, his grandfather wanted to use some money and he had to go through her; in all actuality, he had no real footing in this marriage and it made Yugi sick to his stomach whenever he had interacted with them.

No, relationships…they never worked. He refused to become attached like that to anyone.

And that feeling was only intensified after what had happened with Tea. He'd crushed on her for so fucking long, actually thought that maybe they could be something later, but she was a bitch and he didn't understand how he could have such horrible luck.

But maybe it was also amplified by Yami's constant running after he handed his body over to him. Because he never stuck around for long. So maybe, despite how much he hated to admit it, there was a high chance that Yami's own actions had furthered his distrust for relationships.

A mouth, warm and needy and soft, kissed wet trails up and down his neck; teeth gently grabbed at the choker around his neck, tugged softly once, and then a soft pink tongue flattened and licked a path up the column of his flesh.

Yami's hands busied themselves with Yugi's waistband and Yugi opened his eyes into slits to regard him curiously; if Yami was expecting something, why would he have to get drunk to demand it?

In all honesty, Yami was stronger and faster and a lot scarier than Yugi was. He could fight him, yes, but Yami seemed like one of those people who could build stamina as time passed rather than lose energy. It was probably how he fought when he had to.

And Yugi knew for a fact that had Yami not been so sluggish and tired and exhausted that day when he looked him up online, he would have beaten the shit out of him and gotten out the house like he had wanted. It was honestly that easy for the red-eyed teen…

So if he wanted to demand something of him, he could force him. If he was the type of person who wanted to, he could have raped him a million times by now.

But Yami wasn't that type.

So demanding…was not in his nature.

Not directly, anyways.

He fought for what he wanted without making it too obvious and he clawed his way to his success because that was what he  _did_. He didn't try to force something on another person just for the hell of it, because that wasn't who he  _was_. He was fierce and dangerous, and if he wanted to, he could burn like fire, but he was more complex and so he didn't do those things.

No, if he wanted it, he would fight for it, but it would be in less obvious ways.

He wouldn't force Yugi into anything, but by the time it was all over, maybe he would triumph.

If he said no right now…

"No."

Yami stopped short, just as expected, his hands no longer pulling his pants down, his eyes wide as he tilted his head in confusion. "No?"

Yugi blinked and thought fast. "No, don't take off my socks."

He looked thoroughly confused now and then looked at Yugi's feet because, in all honesty, both of them knew he was nowhere near there yet. He had just gotten his jeans to his knees and Yami gave him a small frown of clear puzzlement before going back to slowly kissing from his pelvis to his inner thigh and then along his legs.

Fuck, was this… _worship_?

Was Yami… _worshipping him_?

Yugi blinked a few times. There was no way. No way at all…

That couldn't be it. Nope, Yugi was seeing things where there was nothing.

That was all.

Yep.

Yami pulled his pants all the way off and then looked at him curiously for a moment before suddenly he pulled back and then started digging around in his pockets before producing a small baggy of aluminum wrappers and holding them out to him.

"Do you want to use this? It's cleaner."

Wait, did  _Yugi_ want to use one or was he asking if he wanted  _Yami_ to use one?

"Wait, me use one or you use one?"

"You use one…I could use one too."

Yugi stared blankly for a long moment and Yami didn't move from where he was perched between his legs, still fully clothed and looking completely confused. And then, finally, his mind produced him with the incident in the stall, right before their pictures were shown everywhere in school.  _Oh_ , _for fuck's sake_ …

"Fine, fine, I will use one. Just, you don't."

Yami paused and then blinked before nodding slowly. "Um…okay."

Yugi ignored the question in the back of his mind demanding to know if Yami was going to carry condoms with him everywhere, like some kind of slut. Yugi wasn't going to spread his legs  _that_ often…at least not without the required persuasion to get past groping, anyways.

He half-smirked at that thought and then slowly came to realize why Yami had brought the bag out in the first place. The taller teen had tried to get his shirt off—the stretched material bunched up in slight places, the way his vest was pulled to lay on the top of his upper arms rather than his shoulders said this much.

He felt a small blush appear on his cheeks. Fuck him for being so caught up in his head rather than enjoying the mo—

He moaned and arched when he felt the finger inside of him, the slow pumping sensation making his skin tingle and his spine warm beneath his skin. Fire, ice and lightning crackled and fought inside him, his nerves hot like lava, his mind frozen like a glacier, and sparks flooding his system like shots of vibrant lightning.

A second finger had him squirming as well as writhing, arching and moaning louder, though it was still rather quiet in volume. He could get loud, but it seemed unconsciously, by default, he was rather quiet instead. Well, at least they had something in common outside of sexual stamina and hairstyles.

A third finger and he was scrabbling to grip at his shoulders and Yami was moving to accommodate him and then he was freed of fingers and whining and Yami was pressing into him, pausing every now and then and asking a very quiet and overly considerate, "Is this okay?" every time he tensed up.

"Yes, gods yes," Yugi hissed in response each time and when Yami settled again, he was a little surprised when the red-eyed teen looked his shirts over and then grabbed the bag he had brought, opening it and tearing open one of the condom wrappers with his teeth, rolling the protection onto Yugi's erection before he could say anything or even make a point to try it himself.

He was sloppy again, but despite this, Yugi was pleased with his aim. He was mewling and clawing his back up while Yami moved at different intervals, no rhythm for the life of him, just going with whatever his head was telling him. Moving fast and then slow and then medium and everything between.

It was funny and Yugi laughed a couple of times but eventually, Yami started to tire himself out and the smaller teen knew that neither of them were anywhere near an orgasm.

"All right, stop for a moment."

Yami blinked in confusion and stilled halfway inside of him again, panting raggedly like some kind of animal. Again, Yugi was not offended by this in the least, but he was a little annoyed, because Yami shouldn't be this tired.

Yugi was spoiled. That was it.

Because Yami lasted so long when he was sober and he was so used to him being sober that this—tiring out like this—felt like some kind of sick insult. And that was disgusting and rude by all means, but that was what it felt like.

"I need you to flip us over."

Yami looked at the floor and then the backrest and back, voicing the only thing in his head. "There isn't enough room."

And Yugi studied this as well before finally he pushed Yami by the shoulders; when the taller teen moved to accommodate him, his legs were around his waist and he pushed with all the weight his smaller body had to it, succeeding in making Yami topple over onto his back, wide-eyed and shocked.

He grinned proudly and winked at him before shifting his position slightly and starting to move, using the armrest over Yami's head to keep his balance, mewls and moans exploding through him with no effort on his behalf.

Yami moaned beneath him and gripped at his hips with gentle fingers, like maybe he was afraid of hurting him or offending him with this movement, but Yugi ignored this thought in order to reach his left hand back and grab Yami's, pressing his fingers into his skin tightly.

Yami obeyed this simple gesture, his grip tight as nails bit into his skin and made him throw his head back with a long shameless moan. The taller teen purred a little in response and again, when Yugi looked at him, his expression was confused even as he continued the deep baritone rumble in his chest.

Yugi cracked up at his expression, not even managing to stop as he teetered over the edge and came inside of the condom. Yami came a second later when he settled back with the taller teen bottomed out inside him, too tired to move again for a few minutes.

It took a long ten minutes but eventually Yugi finally got up the energy—part of him was sleepy from their activities and the other from the lateness of the night—to pull away, watching as Yami licked his lips and leaned forward a little.

Yugi took the condom off and tied it, as he knew he was supposed to do, dumped the others onto the table, and then dropped it inside the baggy that had formerly held them all; when he turned back Yami sat up a little and he was holding a couch cushion as he looked at the TV and back before muttering, "I'm tired, Yugi."

"It  _is_ three in the morning," Yugi commented, yawning softly and watching him curiously; he kind of liked the small yet heavy lilt to his voice, the way his words slurred together to show how drunk he truly was. It was odd but it was so fascinating to the small teen and he couldn't help but love the way it melded with the naturally deep baritone pitch.

"Oh…"

"Actually…" He reached over and tapped his phone screen before turning back. "It's four-thirty."

They hadn't lasted as long as he had thought but that was okay. It was whatever.

"Yugi…?"

He laughed at the way his own name came out, eyes bright as he regarded him; it was strangely adorable, something he never thought he would use to describe the fire-eyed boy facing him.

"Yeah?"

For a moment Yami didn't speak, instead opening and closing his mouth twice before yawning and showing off his teeth with the movement, his canines sharp and attention-grabbing as they glinted with the bright, ever-changing light from the TV.

"I love you."

These words did not come out nearly as slurred as when he spoke his name but Yugi still burst out laughing anyways, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "You really  _must_ be drunk off your ass," he cackled.

"I'm not drunk," Yami spat, glaring at him coldly which made Yugi freeze in surprise, eyes wide at the suddenly sober-like expression of pure rage on his face. "I'm…just a little buzzed."

Yugi opened his mouth to answer him, say that he was not "just a little buzzed" but then something collided with his face and he was startled by its impact—not hard but not completely soft either—especially when it was followed by seven more hits before it suddenly stopped.

He was still so completely confused until his eyes lowered and he stared openly at the boy in front of him. Yami had passed out and the pillow he had been holding was half stretched out towards him.

So Yami had beaten him up with a throw pillow.

That was nice.

Yugi shrugged a shoulder and turned back to the TV.

* * *

Yami felt some kind of sense of dread even as he walked home after school that day. His instincts told him to turn around and run. Everything in his body was telling him to flee the other way. His mind failed to rationalize this, however, so he could not find a reason to obey.

He glanced around a couple of times and then turned back; the black car was down the street so obviously it wasn't them…

And Yugi wasn't around because he had not seen him since Saturday after he had woken up, stared at him asleep on the couch a few feet from him and then taken off; in school he had noticed him but not acknowledged him, which was cruel by all means, but Yami had the memories this time around, thick and fuzzy, but still there. And what he said…

Topped with Yugi's no…

He couldn't face him.

Ra, he couldn't  _face_  him.

Yami shook this off to get back to his house, slipping inside and going upstairs to his room, doing his daily routine of heading into one of the spare bedrooms to do homework because it was at least distracting, only to freeze and go completely still, hand grabbing his backpack hard, mouth dry as he stared with wide eyes. Oh holy fuck, he should have run.

With long thick gray eyebrows, a rather regal gray beard and mustache cut to shape his jaw and a shaved head, stood his father who looked over and stared back at him just as he did the same.

"Atem."

He nearly fled with that one word but forced himself to throw his keys onto the side table and drop his backpack to the ground, giving him a small dip of his head and murmuring, "Father" in a soft voice.

Ra, he really should have recognized that sense of fear. It was branded into him, after all…How could he have not realized?

"My…Your  _mother_ sent me."

It was so terribly hard  _not_ to recognize the significance of that statement. A week before and she had been his wife and now she was back to being his mother. How strange. Had something changed in that amount of time?

Surely not, because Yami was back to getting plastered and fucking Yugi and…

No, he shot it out of his head.

It couldn't be true.

Yugi was a balm to his pain because he was in the same boat. There was nothing significant about that.

He lowered his head, staring at the ground, as he knew he was supposed to do. "Mother?" he said softly. "How is she?"

"She is shamed."

That wasn't what he meant at all.

And his father knew that.

Fucking ass that he was.

"I trained you from scratch as a boy, to make you into the perfect child and future ambassador. But you have ruined it all."

Yami blinked and then slowly looked up through his lashes, staring in confusion. "I don't understand," he admitted slowly.  _Trained_  him? Was he a dog now?

He flinched and recoiled instinctively when he slammed a hand down against the desk and the noise was like a slap through the house.

"I mean that you were  _shown_ what it means to be a man, and your place in the world from a  _young_ age."

Yami stared with wide eyes.  _How young…_?

He didn't voice this.

"Even at the age of two months, you were a spoiled  _brat_!" he growled. "You cried nonstop when you wanted something or when you didn't get your way. Your mother coddling you and tending to your every beck and call did nothing but spoil you further. It hindered you, as I knew it would, and it only hurt you in the long run."

Two months…?

"You're fucking crazy!" Yami spat, staring at him incredulously. What did he do to him?

The room was deathly quiet but for the sounds of their breathing as they glared at one another. Yami was not about to bend, however, because he was in no mood to try to please him.

He had too much going on as it was  _without_ his stupid little issues to throw into the mix and he wished his father hadn't come here at all in the first place.

"You better fucking apologize," he whispered menacingly.

Yami felt a tremor race through him. "No." He took a small step back, gulping hard. "You…you disciplined me at two months? You weren't supposed to do that! I couldn't understand anything back then. You only teach a child things when they can actually  _understand_ it, not when they're a baby and don't know any better. I cried because I was hungry and Mom catered to me because that is what she was supposed to do as my fucking mo—"

His head whipped to the side and he stumbled with the force of the blow, feeling his jaw crack with the impact, his eyes feeling almost as if they might pop out of his head and roll across the floor. Yami blinked once and then looked at him with wide eyes; of course this was  _far_ from the first time he had ever hit him, but the fact that he was still standing, that his father hadn't put his full strength into it, said that he was in for far worse…

"You will not speak to me like that!" he screamed. "Apologize."

"Fuck. You," Yami hissed under his breath.

His hand rose up to strike him again but he went tumbling backwards when Yami shoved him and snarled, "Fuck you, you goddamned bastard! I will not kneel before you like some kind of coward!"

His dark brown eyes were darker now, almost black with pure rage, his tanned face red with the emotion, visibly shaking. Yami backed up again, trembling. Holy shit. What had he just fucking  _done_?

When he backed up into the wall, his phone went off but he was too terrified to bother fishing it out of his pockets; god, the rage, this had to be where he had always gotten it from. This monster in front of him…had created the one in him…

"I don't know who the fuck you think you are. I am your father, and you are my son. You will show me the respect I deserve. I thought allowing you to come to this pathetic continent as you wanted was going to make you a better man, but you are nothing but a  _disgrace_!"

He pressed himself flat against the wall. He wasn't going to get through this unscathed. Of course not.

"What the fuck do they want?"

His voicemail went off, the noise of it making Yami's ears ring for the single three seconds it sounded.

"F-father, I'm sorry I pushed you and swore at you. I k-know better than to do that," he said desperately.

"You have shamed my wife"—Yami flinched again, not at the raised voice, not at the way he advanced on him, but at the implication—"You have brought such shame upon our family. Do you know how  _pathetic_ it is to go to a protest and find a picture of  _you_ kissing another  _boy_? Project partner? I think not. She is depressed and won't stop crying, and  _you_ brought this upon her. It's going to take me  _years_ to make Egypt forget this disgrace."

"Father, I don't know how to make this better!" Yami cried out in desperation, head suddenly swimming with the memory of seeing that protest on the Egyptian newspapers he followed online, of seeing his picture with Yugi, of the two of them joined at the lips; it had been sent out right before the rally to only his father four hours after it had been spread around his school. It hadn't been surprising when his father had disowned him over the phone like he had but it had been surprising that the picture hadn't circulated around in Egypt until the day of the rally in which the picture had been blown up drastically and his own name was scrawled beneath it; in the news reports it said that over two hundred of that single picture had shown up at that single rally. "I will do anything, but please don't let her suffer for my mistakes."

"It's already  _your_ fault that she is suffering," he spat. "She didn't ask to give birth to a boy who does nothing but fuck up."

"Father—"

"Enough!"

Yami let out no noise when his fist hit his chest and hands grabbed his mouth and nose, his entire body falling back into old habits; he couldn't fight back or make a noise because it only made things worse. It was a good thing that Yami could go ten minutes without breathing, at least. It was the eleventh minute that brought the spots behind his eyes just as his father pulled back and allowed him to fall to his knees, breathing hard before feeling his hand grabbing the back of his neck, throwing him to his feet, forcing him to look up at him.

"I should have known better than to trust a fuck up like you."

"Father, I'm sorry. I am doing the best I can—"

That was such a tired excuse. How many times had he been forced to say it in his lifetime? Far too many for just sixteen years…

"No you are not! I have seen with my own eyes you and that—that  _creature_! I have seen the pictures—how you kiss him when you should have a woman by your side. Does he suck your dick that well?" he snarled.

"I—I'm sorry. I—I will do better…"

When he threw him across the floor it wasn't much of a surprise but when he jerked him to his feet and pressed his thumbs into the pressure points on his shoulders, Yami was a second away from screaming but clamped it down with a desperation he had known since he was six.

"I get it. Please, I get it. I'm a fuck up, and I know I will never be good enough. I'm sorry. I don't know how to make this better—"

"You will fucking  _listen_  to me!"

"Okay, okay, anything…"

He released him and Yami scrambled away from him and towards the hallway, putting some distance between them before he could grab him again, scrambling to his feet and breathing hard.

"You will stop this pathetic behavior. And you will find a woman who will be  _worth_ the Sennen family name."

"I can't…I can't just…I am—"

* * *

His phone was ringing, of that much Yugi knew.

Because the voicemail kept fucking popping up and it was annoying the shit out of him; why wouldn't he just answer the phone?

For a moment he figured that maybe he just didn't care enough. He had been avoiding him rather steadily since Saturday when he said…no, Yugi refused to believe that. There was no fucking way that was true.

But even then, Yami had answered his phone when he needed him. And he needed him right now. He needed to talk to  _someone_ and honestly, Yami was the only one he could think to do so. So why the fuck wasn't he answering?

Yugi crossed his arms in annoyance and redialed before texting twice and waiting a minute before doing so again. And still, after ten minutes and twenty new calls and texts, Yami still did not answer.

Which meant that either he was asleep—that was funny—or something had happened.

Wait…hadn't he heard his cousins talking about Yami jumping off a cliff before? Yes, he had. Bakura and Malik said that he jumped off the side of the cliff claiming he was cliff diving but both of them seemed to think he was suicidal…

Oh, holy fuck…

Yugi dug through his apps for a few minutes before finally coming up to the one he wanted and typing in the number and phone service—that one took longer because he couldn't remember who the fuck Yami's provider was—before running it. For a long two minutes in which Yugi was pretty close to panicking, the app finally gave him a location…about twenty blocks away.

He groaned but knew he didn't have money for a taxi and instead settled for running; at least his bullies had left him with something worthwhile when they chased him home when he was younger.

It took a while before he was even close to the neighborhood and he had to pass a few people who yelled when he tore past them as he did, one girl sobbing because he knocked an ice cream cone out of her hand and all over his shirt; he ignored her and her mother screamed at him that he was on her shit list—not that he really cared, but there was a moment where he wanted to stop short and ask who else had the pleasure of being on it—but she didn't chase him, which was good, because she would have probably lost her child to a stranger in the meantime.

He got to a two-story house—or three, if you counted the basement who's side window he spotted from the angle he was running from—with white wooden exterior, nice green grass, a couple of trees, a few bushes, some ivy, a porch, a small mailbox…the essentials of a nice yard.

He was semi-jealous of it. Damn, this neighborhood was actually really nice.

He ignored that thought to knock on the door but there was no answer and when he knocked again and got nothing, he tried the doorknob to find that it was unlocked.

Fear made his nerves prickle and fire beneath his skin made his head throb slightly as he pushed the door open and entered the house. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do past that. If Yami had cut himself or something, should he call an ambulance? But what if he was already dead? What was the point of that?

He never really did understand what the point was of calling an ambulance for a dead body. He thought the stupid morgue took care of bodies, after all.

Rolling his eyes at his own thoughts, he closed the door behind him and wandered into the house.

There was a small marble-like set of small, tiny steps that led the way to carpet floors further away. There were steps somewhere off to his left, but he let his eyes sweep over the living room before he bothered with that; there was a TV, two couches, a coffee table, but not much else. Oh, a plant…wow, Yami had a cactus. Windows decorated the room and it looked pretty cool, like a place where you could throw a ton of parties and the neighbors would complain loudly about the person next door.

He was about to call out Yami's name when his attention drifted to a dark red spot on the carpet, tilting his head as he followed it to the stairs where he nearly threw up.

Yami was lying haphazardly across the bottom of them, body twisted in ways that didn't seem quite comfortable, nor physical possible, his head busted open and bleeding. Yugi nearly threw up again; he could feel the bile in the back of his throat and panic seized him as he looked the scene over.

Obviously Yami had either fallen or—holy fuck, was that a bruise mark? No, that was  _several_ bruise marks. His face was bruised up and there were handprints on his neck, his right cheek was bright red and swollen, and his jaw had a rather nasty rub burn from his topple down the stairs. And the bruises around his eye…yeah, no, he hadn't fallen. Someone had either pushed him or maybe he got attacked and they both went over the stairs but only the other one had gotten up afterwards.

Yugi forced his feet over to his side, swallowing hard once before crouching down next to him, grabbing his wrist. His pulse was a little on the weaker side he found when he compared his own to Yami's, but when he looked down, Yami was breathing as if he were asleep.

He almost cried from laughing so hard.

And then he felt like shit because he was laughing and he should have been trying to wake him.

Or no, maybe he wasn't supposed to do that…

For fuck's sake…

"Hello?" he murmured. "I need an ambulance at"—shit, what the fuck was Yami's address?—"Um, I don't know where the hell I am, actually. I need you to trace this call. Anyways, my friend is unconscious with a massive head wound. I think he was pushed down the stairs. I don't know for sure though…Hmm? Oh yes, I can hold."

It was weird, because he never really thought that people were put on hold when calling the police, but whatever floated their boats was fine by him. Besides, he had nothing better to do anyways.

"We have your location. We will send someone in a moment."

"Okay, thanks, I guess."

Shit, was that what he was supposed to say?

He had no experience with this whatsoever, so he wondered vaguely if this would make him look suspicious, but at the same time, he pushed the thought away because, well, fuck, whatever. Who would be stupid enough to call in their own fucking crime unless they knew they wouldn't get caught?

But Yugi had left so many clues it was not even funny.

Yami didn't stir beside him even when the ambulance came. The wails made his ears want to bleed but it did not wake the other boy, not that he really expected it to anyways; Yugi watched them load him onto a gurney and he was kind of stunned when they asked if he was coming to the hospital. He debated it for a split second and then jumped into the ambulance with him, watching the paramedics closely as they did…well, whatever the fuck it was they did.

Yami was taken into surgery—Yugi hadn't thought any of it merited that, to be honest, because he looked okay for the most part, but they insisted—immediately and he was left in the waiting room where he watched a soap opera with the most annoying characters he had ever seen but found the parallel of their situation and his.

Boy loved girl. Girl didn't like him. Boy tried to weasel his way into her heart. Girl rejected him heartlessly. And then it stopped with parallels because the guy went bat-shit crazy and slaughtered her by running her ass over several times without remorse.

Okay, well, at least that much was interesting.

"Motou, Yugi?"

He looked over as one of the doctors came over with a clipboard, looking him over and then checking the clipboard and back before taking a seat next to him. "Your friend is in the recovery bay. He's still asleep but you can go and visit him if you want."

"Why did he need surgery? It didn't look that bad," he muttered a little coldly.

The doctor gave him a strange look before offering a small smile. "He broke two of his ribs when he fell and he has a major concussion from the impact, so it is quite possible that he might not even remember half of the things that happened. And the way he landed on his wrist gave it a small fracture."

"Is he going to need a cast?"

Yugi would sign it if he did.

"No, he just needs a brace."

Damn. "Okay."

"Would you like to visit him?"

"Is there a chance he won't wake up today?"

For a moment the doctor just studied him curiously before standing up. "Not a high one. He seems like a pretty strong kid. I wouldn't be surprised if he woke up already."

Yugi frowned a little and then got up. "Yeah, lead the way, doc."

He chuckled but Yugi wasn't joking. He didn't know his name and he didn't give a fuck what it was. And what was worse, he didn't even know if he wanted to fucking see Yami in the first place.

How fucked up was that?

He was asleep and Yugi turned to talk to the doctor only to find the bastard had left him; he huffed softly and turned back, feeling a rush half of relief and half of disappointment at this small fact. He leaned against the door and felt sick to his stomach.

Yami's face…he hadn't noticed it all in the wake of finding him, but he had a look of pure helplessness, defeat, of apprehension that just did not suit him at all.

He wanted to throw up when he saw the black brace around his right wrist, the cuts that he had noticed on his face, the burns from the rug, the patch of hair that had been shaved in order to stitch up the head wound, the cream-colored bandages wrapped around his torso.

He moved closer slowly, his steps tentative as he stopped a few steps away from the bed, glancing once out into the hallway awkwardly and then turning back slowly only to see him wince and squirm in his sleep; he was just about to take a seat and busy himself with the task of simply staring at vacant white walls when his gaze spotted something red from the corner and it took him a moment to realize it was a pair of eyes.

"What…are you doing here?"

Yugi blinked wide eyes and then opened and closed his mouth before staring back blankly. What was he supposed to say?

Why  _was_ he here?

God, his eyes were the shade of the blood that Yugi had found in the carpet, such a stark contrast from the sterile white of the walls surrounding them.

For a moment he didn't answer and then finally he glanced at the chair behind him, hooked his foot around its front leg and dragged it closer, plopping down and watching him closely as he said, "I wanted to see how you were."

As if it was that simple.

Yami merely stared at him in return and for whatever reason, this time it made his blood boil beneath his skin with self-consciousness, something that Yugi had not really suffered since he was thirteen, right before he hit that phase where attention…meant everything.

"I only wanted to see if you were okay. And by the sounds of things, you're fine. So I think I am going to just go now." He stood up abruptly and started for the door but a low, sharp keening noise made him spin around with a startled expression, only to find that Yami really  _had_  made that noise; it was obvious in the way he had grabbed his head afterwards, grimacing sharply and then giving him a pleading look.

"S-stay? Please?"

He stared and stared and stared some more.

Because this all seemed so unnatural and surreal that he couldn't accept it at first.

"Why?"

But he was really more curious of the answers that his skeptical and hurting head sought with the unvoiced questions of,  _Why do you want me to say_?  _Why_ should  _I stay_?  _Why do we always seem to run from each other like this_?  _Why does it feel like anything to come out of our mouths will only hurt us_ that  _much more_?

But mostly, his head buzzed with the desperate plea for the answer to,  _Why…why would someone like you_ ever  _love someone like me_?

Yugi found himself staring into a pair of eyes, glazed over and exhausted but fully coherent, that actually seemed to  _realize_ this.

"Because…I want you to…? Please?"

Yami took a deep breath in through his nose and then hissed before rubbing at his bandaged ribcage and looking confused.

"I thought they gave you pain medication…"

"They did…I just…it just normally doesn't work on me anyways."

"So…what hurts then?"

"Mostly my ribs. I mean, they are fucked, after all…" He looked at the bandages for a moment and then rolled his eyes before turning his head back to him, red eyes searching his face for something that Yugi wasn't quite sure he would ever find.

"Should I get a nurse or something?"

"No. I'm okay." He paused. "Do you know what happened? Because when I think back, I don't find much. Just that I got home from school…"

"I wasn't there. But they say you have a concussion, so that's probably it."

"Yeah…they told me."

"So, um…how do you feel?"

Was small talk really supposed to be this hard?

"Ugh, like shit. Everything hurts."

Yugi fought to ignore the way that Yami kept his eyes trained solely on his face, seeming to take in every little thing that the smaller boy did.

He sighed and then winced and bared his teeth, muttering, "Fuck" under his breath before glancing at his monitor and then back, eyes widening slightly as if he thought the smaller one would be gone when he turned back.

But this time his eyes were blazing and Yugi was stuck staring.

"How did you find me anyways?"

"I used my Track My Phone app." He frowned and watched Yami narrow his eyes. "You weren't answering."

"Did you need something?"

"Yes."

"What did you need?"

He didn't tell him that he wanted to talk to someone, that he needed someone and Yami was actually the first person to come to mind. Instead he said what he knew Yami was waiting for him to.

"A distraction."

Yami held his eyes for exactly six seconds before closing them and for a moment Yugi debated the idea that possibly Yami realized he was lying but then dismissed it as the red-eyed teen spoke again. "Right. Okay. You can  _fuck off_ now."

Yugi was not the least bit surprised by the sharpness of his tone, shrugging and starting for the door before hearing a small voice muttering, "I think it was my dad…" so softly that he almost didn't hear it.

He turned around slowly and put a hand against the doorjamb, watching him with narrowed eyes before slowly walking towards him again. "Your dad?"

"I think…I don't know. I try to sort through my head and it just…doesn't work."

"That's what concussions do to you," he said a little sharply.

Yami shot him a nasty look and then closed his eyes, voice quiet when he forced himself to speak. "Am I just a booty call for you?"

"Aren't I the same to you?" Yugi asked cautiously.

"I'm out of commission so go find someone else to fuck."

"Yami—"

"You have a bunch of fuck buddies lined up for the taking," he spat, glaring, "so just go find one, hook up, get your fix, and stay the fuck out of my life. Everything would be that much fucking simpler."

"Oh shut the fuck up. Life is never  _meant_ to be simple. If it's simple, you're not  _living._ "

"Get out."

"No. You've pissed me off so I think I'm going to stay here."

Yami glared at him angrily for a moment and then seemed to lose all will to continue fighting as he looked at his monitor and then the TV on the wall and even the clock before finally turning back to him with narrowed eyes.

"Just  _fuck_ off, Yugi. Run off to one of your other fuck buddies. I don't need you here."

"Why do you fucking  _do this_ to me, damn it? You're such a little bitch sometimes, Yami," Yugi snarled, stepping closer to the bed and glaring. "Why the fuck did you even want me to stay here?"

For a long moment there was no answer and then the red eyes drifted to settle on his right hand where he flexed his fingers and muttered, "Because I fucking love you."

Yugi recoiled. He was sober. He was not drugged up. His eyes were glazed with exhaustion, not medication. Why the fuck was he saying this?

No, he couldn't love him. That wasn't how any of this worked. There was no fucking way…

"What?"

It came out sharp, and nasty, and brutal, and as a huff rather than a word.

Yami refused to answer, refused to look up.

"You… _love_ me?" Yugi repeated, his voice coming out incredulous and a little cold; still Yami didn't answer, didn't look up, didn't bother to turn his head slightly towards him in acknowledgment. "Answer me, damn it."

"Are you fucking  _deaf_ now?" Yami spat, turning his head. "Did your voice do that to you or did someone finally scream for you, Yugi?"

He shook his head slowly, staring at him in disbelief. Yami didn't mean it. He  _couldn't_ mean it. There was no possible way. It was just an infatuation, some kind of sick fascination and disgusting obsession, nothing more and nothing less. Yugi couldn't handle this…

"You don't love me."

Yami did not answer but he stared and that stare said it all.

"No." He shook his head and let out a bark of a laugh, smiling sardonically. "How could you, damn it? How could you really, Yami? You and I…we don't even know each other. People in love…they don't treat each other the way we do. You don't just fall in love with someone when you  _know_ you mean nothing to them and they mean nothing to you. It's some sick infatuation that we're dealing with and you are blowing it out of proportion. You don't fucking…you don't just—Yami, even you aren't stupid enough to think you  _love_ me. This is all just some stupid ploy to get back at your father for all the shit he's put you through. That's  _all_."

Yami's jaw tightened.

"Do you even  _know_ what love  _is—_?"

"Fuck you," Yami spat, spinning on him so suddenly that Yugi stumbled back from the blaze in his eyes; it didn't take much to realize that Yami had clenched both hands into fists and his right looked like it was trembling from the pain he must have been in. "Do you take me for a fucking  _idiot_?"

"What?"

"Do you  _honestly_ think I would say that to someone—to a fucking  _guy—_ if I didn't fucking  _mean_ it? Not to fucking mention, the school slut?" Yami barked.

"I…I don't know."

And he didn't. Because his head was spinning and he was confused and he didn't like the way things were going. And he was scared of the way that Yami kept saying those three words. Especially now…when he was…sober.

"Fuck you. Get the hell out."

"How the fuck can you  _honestly_ expect me…to just…leave after you say something like that?" he demanded hotly, glaring, feeling his teeth grind into each other angrily as he saw Yami snort in response.

"You don't even fucking believe it anyways. So get the fuck out."

Yugi felt a sweep of panic overtake him when Yami finally lowered his eyes towards his trembling hand and then released the fist he had been making to flex his shaking fingers out, the slender digits bright red with blood deprivation.

"I do…I mean…I don't know if I do. I don't know if I can…it just…you have to be the most confusing and frustrating and irritating and annoying and—you make me want to bash my head in sometimes. I don't know what the fuck to believe."

Yami opened his mouth to answer but ended up doubling over and rubbing at his ribs, frowning.

"Are you okay?"

"I am fucking  _peachy_ ," he spat, turning on him again. "Now get the fuck out."

"No."

"Ra."

He took a small tentative step forward and then forced himself to shuffle a couple more in order to reach out and place his hand on his shoulder, feeling shaken by that defeated look that crossed his face again.

"Don't fucking  _touch_  me," Yami snarled viciously, but it was a whisper of a noise and though Yugi took his hand away, he wasn't really listening when he did so.

And then silence stretched between them, suffocating like the thickest blanket of a fog and weighing them down with the force of granite.

His words would probably be too soft to even cut into it, so he didn't bother trying, but Yami…his words were always sharp enough to tear through flesh, through bone, through steel, so it was sharp enough to cut the foggy granite, and that was why he spoke instead.

"So you think I don't know what love is, huh?"

Yugi watched as he kept his eyes trained solely on that fractured wrist again.

"Well, maybe I don't. Maybe you're right and I'm misinterpreting shit that shouldn't even  _be_  there. So, why don't you fucking tell me what the fuck it is that I'm feeling, Yugi? Because you seem to be the expert on this—not really a surprise, considering your little bullshit crush on that bitch Tea. Tell me though, so I can understand a little better. Tell me why I don't eat properly anymore, why I haven't since this whole thing began—since the picture and we started hanging out together. Tell me why I burn under my skin in places I didn't even know existed and you're the only thing that makes it stop. Tell me why I can't sleep properly anymore, why the only reason I can even sleep anymore is because I tire myself out physically and mentally. Tell me why I think about you  _all the goddamned time_!"

Yugi stared with wide eyes as he turned his head and stared, his face impassive as ever, but his eyes still defeated and swimming in it.

"Tell me why the thought of you going around with others"—his lips twisted and his teeth were bared for a split second—"Why does imagining that make me  _hurt_?" He shook his head slowly, narrowing his eyes. "I don't get hurt easily, Yugi. In fact, the only people who can hurt me? My parents. Bakura. Malik. Seto. Mokuba. That's it. Six people."

Yugi wanted to look away but he couldn't. Yami's eyes were relentless and unforgiving, boring into his without a single bit of remorse towards his actions.

"Like when my father called up the day after the picture went viral around school to tell me I was a fucking disgrace, that hurt like hell but still it was  _nothing_ compared to how I feel whenever I think of you with someone else."

Yami bit out a laugh as he turned back to his wrist, flexing his fingers which trembled from the force of the brace.

"And so you're the fucking expert on love, right? But I tell you I love you and you laugh in my face about it. So, why don't you tell me about it, Yugi? Tell me about how the fuck it is you have managed to fucking ruin me without lifting a goddamned finger."

Yugi was stunned when he ducked his head and his bangs fell to shadow his face; he was reeling, which was why he honestly didn't think that he could  _possibly_ stand with the way his legs started to feel weak and so slowly turned and perched on the edge of the seat next to Yami's bed.

"I was never just  _saying_  that everything hurt."

Yugi felt sick to his stomach. "Then why…? There's no fucking way, Yami. It just isn't possible. It makes no fucking sense. This…was meant to be some kind of stupid fling. We fuck, we don't talk about it. We sure as fuck don't get attached and fall in love!"

"I don't know why this happened. But I'm so tired. I just…I hate feeling like this. I hate the burn beneath my skin and the ache in my chest. I hate the feeling. It drives me insane, and I end up doing stupid things. Honestly, Yugi, do you think I  _want_ this? Do you think I  _want_ to  _love you_? I have never felt like this before, not for anyone. If the teacher had never paired us together, this…would never have happened."

There was a long silence.

"What about Mai?"

"Mai?" Yami echoed, blinking once. "What about Mai?"

"She has a thing for you."

"I know."

"So why didn't you two hook up?"

Yami didn't answer for the longest time and then shook his head with his hands over his face. "I don't…I don't feel that way about her. I don't feel that way about anyone. I haven't had to deal with this before you—the stupid bad boy—got paired with me for this project. I never would have…"

"This was supposed to be for fun."

"I know."

"A way to relieve stress."

"I know."

"So then why the fuck has it ended up like  _this_?"

"I don't know."

Yugi shook his head angrily, clenching his jaw. "This doesn't fucking make any goddamned sense, Yami," he snapped before glaring sharply. "Why did you even fucking  _tell_ me?"

Yami turned his head and stared with wide eyes.

"Why did you have to fuck me up even more than I already  _am_?"

"W-what?"

"You shouldn't have fucking said it. Not when you were drunk and not now."

"Why?"

"Because…because it was never supposed to  _be_ like  _this_ with us!"

"I am so fucking sorry for the inconvenience. I can't fucking help how I feel."

Yugi fell silent for a long minute. "I know. But…you should never have said it."

Yami stared at the ground and Yugi spent a few minutes trying to wrap his head around what he was supposed to do, to get rid of the claustrophobic impression the whole situation left on his chest. And he knew without thinking that it was his turn to break the silence.

"So…what now?"

Yami shrugged halfheartedly and turned his attention to the covers, messing with them, picking at them without a single noise to be made.

And then Yugi realized it.

Nothing had changed between them.

Not really.

So he told him that he loved him, but he did not tell him what he  _wanted_ from him, nor that he  _wanted_ him, did not tell him that he wanted to  _be with_ him.

And like he said, he didn't  _want_ to love him. He just…couldn't help it.

Why did this feel worse than Tea's constant rejection?

"Why did you even tell me this?"

"I…wanted you to know? How I felt? Because I…I thought I…"

Yugi knew what he meant to say, like he always seemed to, and shook his head slowly back and forth, again saying, "You shouldn't have fucking said it."

"And why not?" Yami demanded sharply, coldly, eyes narrowing into slits of pure anger.

"Because it's not fair. You can't just tell me you love me and then just…"

He trailed off and Yami's lips twisted into a bitter half-smile, nodding once before turning away again, his fingers going about tracing at the red flare of color that touched his braced hand's skin, the actions meant to be soothing but only leaving him feeling that much worse. "But, just so you know…I didn't say it just because. I actually had a reason for getting drunk off my ass that night. And I don't know why I bothered to say it because I knew…Look, whatever, this conversation is fucking pointless anyways."

"Not, it's not."

"Yes, it  _is_. I'm just another one of your fuck buddies. I get it. It's that simple."

Yugi opened his mouth but was cut off.

"So get the fuck out."

Yugi sighed and got to his feet before starting for the door.

"Can I ask you something?"

Yami didn't answer but Yugi hadn't truly expected him to and the single smallest almost inaudible touch of the rustle of fabric that the smaller boy assumed was the sheet told him that he was waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

"Are you…Do you still love me? Even after this?"

When he turned his head to look over his shoulder, he could see Yami nod once curtly before turning to his monitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	12. Fact of the Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has abuse, near-rape scenario, and mentions of homophobia  
> Abuse Warning: Abuse is mentioned but not graphically described in the third part of chapter.  
> Near-Rape Scenario Warning: There is a forceful attempt at nonconsensual/non-con sex in the sixth part of chapter. Not too graphic but definitely there.  
> Homophobia Warning: Homophobia is mentioned briefly on several occasions. Aside from that, I was just putting the warning so no one was made mad by this (Honestly, though, in retrospect, you can probably figure out which character it is before they are mentioned). Again, don't support it but it definitely worked for the story so I put it in there.

Chapter XII: Fact of the Matter

Yami woke to this dull throbbing in the back of his head and momentarily wondered if he had somehow gotten drunk while he was there. Maybe one of the nurses slipped it into his IV…

Ra, he'd turned into a conspiracy theorist.

He was just about to look at the monitor when a movement caught his eyes and he snapped his head around to see that Bakura and Malik were sitting a few feet away, playing with their DS's while Seto was talking to Mokuba about something or other.

"What are you guys doing here?" he muttered softly.

All four of them looked up, Malik and Bakura nearly dropping their systems and then cursing when their characters started dying while Seto raised an eyebrow and Mokuba squirmed, looking ready to jump up and hug him but unable to due to the heavy cast on his right leg.

"Well, let's see, shall we? You're in the hospital and—well, no, I think that sums it up pretty well," Bakura stated with a roll of his eyes.

Yami rolled his eyes in response and then Malik took it up and Seto rolled his eyes at their childishness, unconsciously mirroring the three of them.

"Besides, Mokuba wanted to see you before we left," Seto answered.

Mokuba nodded enthusiastically. "So, does it hurt?"

Yami groaned. "Everywhere."

But he said it teasingly so it sounded like he was just playing around with Mokuba rather than the fact that he was telling the truth. Everything did hurt. Everywhere. His heart hurt. His lungs hurt. His liver hurt. Fuck, he was starting to think even his gallbladder hurt and he didn't even know where the hell it  _was_.

"If you tell them you have a headache, they give you really nice drugs," the eight-year-old announced.

The other three shot him looks and Yami chuckled.

"It does hurt but I don't think I need anything for it right now."

"So…I think we all want to know what the hell happened," Seto announced in a businesslike manner. "And how the hell you ended up here if you were unconscious like the doctors said."

"I don't really know any of that," he confessed.

"What? Why wouldn't you know?" Mokuba asked in confusion, glancing at the others to see if they knew what he was talking about.

"I…hit my head really hard on the way down," Yami said with a small frown, shrugging. "Apparently I got a concussion from it. Things are really blurry when I try to figure out what happened."

"Oh. I had one of those. It wasn't fun."

All of them smirked at him before turning away again.

"So you don't know who brought you here?"

"Oh, no, I know that much," he replied, frowning slightly. "Yugi did, actually."

"What the hell was he doing there? Were you two about to shack up again?"

Bakura hit him so hard he doubled over in surprise before giving him a sharp look to which the silver-haired teen growled, "He's eight, you idiot. You can't go around just saying crap like that."

The lavender eyes shot towards Mokuba and then back, the blond blushing slightly. "Right…"

Seto decided not to comment and tell them that Mokuba already  _knew_ what all of this meant because some idiots in the staff had actually been talking about hookups while Mokuba was in his coma and of course the boy had heard it all; apparently his room had become the hot spot for all things gossip. The things that had come out of his mouth after they got back to the house had been rather astounding. Things that  _no_  eight-year-old was supposed to know…

"No, we weren't," Yami muttered. "He called me so we could schedule working on the project and when I didn't answer, he freaked out and found me with his phone app and then apparently he found me on the ground bleeding. I don't know. I was already unconscious and again, I don't remember so don't bother asking."

"How bad is it?" Seto asked quietly.

"I don't know, really. Blurry images, fragments of voices…mostly mine actually. I don't understand what I was saying though. It all kind of jumbles together. And the images sometimes just turn black when I try to focus on them." He shrugged and then glanced at his monitor before laying his head back with a soft sigh. "So I honestly have no fucking idea what happened."

"Damn it, Yami! Not in front of the kid!"

The other three shot him incredulous looks while Mokuba blinked and looked at him, murmuring, "It's a strange day when you're the one trying to protect my innocence" to which all of them burst out laughing.

Bakura rolled his eyes and huffed, crossing his arms as he sat back in his seat and gave Yami a sideways glance. "So how's the food here?"

"It's actually okay. They just keep giving me meat."

"Fucking vegetarians," Malik muttered.

Seto snickered and Mokuba laughed while Bakura smirked and shook his head.

"I also learned that the pizza from the cafeteria downstairs sucks. Like badly. Like…so badly." He groaned and shook his head. "They almost ruined pizza for me. I would have slapped them if that had happened."

"So…back to the subject at hand. Do you remember if you fell or if you were pushed or what?"

"The doctors said I had to have been pushed."

"Why would they say that?"

Yami hesitated for a moment and then frowned, thinking hard about it before sighing, "Because of the angle and the way I landed. If I had just fallen, I wouldn't have broken my ribs. Plus, I had bruises all over." He raised his arm. "And my wrist was fractured prior to the landing and you know me, I don't usually have to use my hands to catch myself when I fall."

"What kind of bruises?" Seto pressed.

Yami opened and closed his mouth and then shook his head. "Ask the doctor. I'm fuzzy on all the details. I don't even remember half of what they said."

The brunet let out a simple hum of a noise in acknowledgment of his statement while Yami stared back up at the ceiling curiously for a moment before turning back; Mokuba frowned a little and the other two sixteen-year-olds shared a look before turning their attention to Seto who gave them a small nod before turning away again.

* * *

Yugi didn't call the entire week that Yami was there in the hospital. He didn't visit. And though Yami really wanted to, tried so hard to, he actually could not find it in himself to give a fuck. And oh, how he wished he could. Just because it seemed logical, like it was supposed to happen.

But too many things on his mind kept that from happening.

And, oh yes, Yugi not calling felt like one of his vital organs had been punctured and he was bleeding internally, but he had grown used to it because it was just there all the time. And, oh yes, not seeing Yugi made him feel like a drug addict with withdrawal symptoms. And, oh, how he wished he didn't care about the smaller boy, how badly he wished he could love someone else—female—but he didn't.

And that was the fact of the matter.

* * *

"Humph."

Yami only bothered to actually crack an eye open because he knew that gruff noise of impatience, looking at him through his lashes and watching him curiously for a second before shifting just enough to let him know he was awake and listening, settling his head back more into the pillow in boredom.

"Hurting much?"

"Not quite. More bored than anything else."

There was a small snicker that made his lips twitch the smallest bit in amusement. "Not much to do in a hospital."

"The most entertainment I get is when someone screams about being in pain."

"Must be fun."

"Very."

When he leaned forward Yami could smell that familiar scent of sharp spice and the chill of barren winter earth; for a moment his head swam with it, just because it was different from the stale medicine that burned his nose.

"So." Yami wanted to swat at the offending finger poking his shoulder gently but laziness prevented him doing so, instead opening his left eye to regard him curiously, turning his head some to watch the silver-haired teen who smirked and pulled his hand away to focus once more on studying him. "You look like shit."

"Your face isn't that great to look at either, Bakura," he sniped.

"Better looking than yours," he snickered, turning his nose up. "I mean, if that picture hadn't gone viral and nobody knew you were gay, I think a picture of you now would turn off any girl hoping to get with you."

His cheeks turned red for a split second before his teeth dug into his bottom lip, awkwardly folding it down some in order to give a strange appearance almost of baring his teeth through that small gap.

Bakura raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, instead watching as his younger cousin rolled his eyes and sighed without words; any other time and he would have pulled a joke about who was the top in their relationship but now was hardly that time so he did the smart thing and didn't open his mouth. The gratitude was actually tangible in the air and almost tasted of something like blood when he drew in a breath through his mouth, the sensation settling in his bones and swirling in his lungs almost like mist.

"Your father is an abusive dick."

At first he almost thought he didn't hear him, that maybe he had fallen asleep again in that single second his eye was closed again but then he heard the softest of snorts and a small light chuckle that made Bakura smirk in amusement.

"Isn't he?"

He didn't know what else to say so he stayed quiet for the moment, instead leaning forward a little more still, somehow mystified in the most sickening of ways by the fading bruises that still littered his skin. They'd be gone by the time he got back to school, but for now they were pale and disgusting in their yellowish tint and they made his flesh crawl but also drew his attention.

It was no secret that physical pain and blood was something of an obsession with Bakura when it came down to it. It was morbid and disgusting but he liked to see it in movies and he liked the feel of blood under his fingers or the strange yet gentle flicker of pain in another's skin when they flinched at the touch of flesh against harmful marks.

And he honestly wanted to touch Yami's. He wanted to see how badly he flinched, if not for his own morbid curiosity but for the fact that he wanted to see how much damage his father had inflicted. His fingers itched, craved it for a moment, but he managed to fight it off despite being unable to shift away from his position leaning over the red-eyed teen.

"He did a number on you."

"They're more superficial."

"So they don't hurt?"

"My wrist. And my head. Not so much the bruises." Yami paused for a second and then opened his eyes and looked at him, not at all surprised by the fact that he was so close to him now, instead raising an eyebrow; out of the three of them, Yami was always the one who didn't feel complete distaste towards Bakura's little obsession. And he hardly worried about him doing anything stupid if he could get his hands on damaged flesh, because despite how strained their relationship sometimes appeared to onlookers, it was far from true that they would hurt each other at any rate and in all actuality, Yami was really the closest to him when it came to knowing one another; they liked picking at each other's weaknesses and knocking each other down occasionally, messing around and being stupid, but whereas Bakura and Malik connected on a superficial level, brought together by the need for entertainment and wild amusement, the silver-haired teen was more like Yami than either of them cared to admit. Oppositions put aside, they had a lot more common ground to stand on than they did with Seto or Malik, despite the fact that it commonly fell in pairs of Yami and Seto and Bakura and Malik when it came to family disputes or massive arguments.

Bakura nearly jumped out of his skin when Yami moved his braced hand over to him, and for a second he hesitated touching him because he didn't know how much pressure he could put on it or even if he should reach out at all, but then his body reacted as it normally did when presented with something, seeking his hand and looking it over as he rotated his wrist slowly.

"How bad does it hurt?" He questioned, tapping a nail over the soft flesh above his pulse point, testing only to see that Yami merely twitched a finger in response, almost as if his body were laughing without the actual noise.

"It's not my skin that hurts. It's my wrist itself," he stated calmly and Bakura let his eyes flicker towards his face, a little unnerved by the fact that Yami was looking away from him and out the door in the hallway as if he weren't there, holding his hand, touching and testing. Sometimes Yami's trust in him made his flesh crawl because while they were all close, Malik or Seto would be watching him like a hawk right about now. "When I sleep on it or move it a certain way."

"That sucks," he snickered. "You sleep on your right side."

If it had been anyone else, Yami would have stared at them as if they had grown three extra heads, but considering it was Bakura, it was normal to hear such a random observation. He was known for studying and taking notes, habitual things rather than superficial. It was no secret that he liked to do so, that he liked to point things out when they got inconsistent or messed up.

Yami had the same habit, though he hardly showed it and it was more ingrained rather than expressed; he liked taking note of things but he didn't normally care enough to keep them on the mind and most of the time they would gain his focus again later when he least expected it.

Seto did the same thing as he did. He took notes without really caring for them but it helped to make him that much better of a CEO, mental lists that he didn't want but always had with a single glance.

Malik, on the other hand, was more tactile, liked to  _cause_ something that was  _worth_ studying, such as someone's reaction to a prank or—on more than one occasion—his display of a stunt such as skateboarding while hanging on the back of a truck his friend drove. He had to have excitement to bother with taking notes or else he grew bored and could not stomach it for more than a minute at a time; at school he and Bakura would have to be around each other, speaking in low voices or flicking paper or lead at each other continuously to keep themselves amused.

"Yeah."

Bakura looked his wrist over, tilting his hand back and staring at his palm momentarily before letting his eyes flicker to the line of veins in his arm; Yami's skin was harsh with a red tint due to the way he had slept on it and the way that the brace had folded into his skin and left an indent.

"It only hurts when I move it a certain way if I don't end up sleeping on it," he supplied, finally turning away from some of the nurses who were running around at the station and letting his eyes flicker over to his cousin who was still studying his hand, dark brown eyes glinting beneath the fluorescents, an artificial show of emotion that didn't exist. He was excited, yes, but not to the point that his eyes were continuously shining with it.

"How badly?"

"I've had far worse," he stated simply, shrugging; he had. The feeling of his bones being on fire beneath his skin was hardly even a speck of what he'd been exposed to over the years. So, honestly, it hardly bothered him. But he was acutely aware of which way he could bend his wrist and which way he couldn't if he didn't want to experience that sensation all over again.

Bakura wanted to move his wrist to see which way made it hurt but he could never find it in himself to hurt his cousin, to cause him pain intentionally. So instead, despite his curiosity being far from sated, his need for study easily still overwhelming, Bakura moved his hands to take Yami's more fully into his grip, making the red eyes flicker over and regard him curiously before widening when he pressed the tips of his fingers into his pulse point and the blood jumped a little in his veins.

"You wanted to talk…"

"Yeah," he admitted, smirking widely when he saw that Yami had grown a little unnerved and extremely distressed by the idea, but his heart wasn't pounding which told him that he was trying to prevent the nurses from coming into the room by steadying his pulse some. "And I can't have you lying your ass off over here."

"Just so you know, the medication they've been giving me makes my heartbeat fluctuate," he commented quietly, clearing his throat slightly, frowning a little as he studied brown eyes that grew smug with his statement.

"Sure." He tapped his fingers against his wrist's pulse again. "I'll just see it in your eyes anyways."

Yami almost said that he wouldn't be able to tell if he was lying or not because his pulse was not reliable and he could easily hide his emotions, but that was exactly what Bakura would be looking for. It would be a sure sign that he was lying and even if he put his shield up to keep Bakura's prying mind out, it would only succeed to tire him out because his silver-haired cousin seemed to just  _know_ these kinds of things. He just knew when someone wasn't truthful and he was smart enough to see past Yami's wall if he got the chance. All putting it up would do was leave Yami exhausted mentally and physically.

"What…are we going to be talking about?"

Bakura didn't answer immediately and when he did, Yami's skin crawled with the response, feeling sick to his stomach. "Yugi."

"Why?"

He looked ready to leer at him but stopped abruptly, instead watching him closely and tilting his head, staring pointedly before tapping his nails against his wrist, not to unnerve him but solely to gather some patience. "Because I'm not stupid, Yami," he snapped, voice somewhat cold but somehow simple and emotionless at the same time.

"I never said you were."

"Good, because you know better," Bakura stated, smirking slightly before watching his face pointedly. "So, you're in love with him."

Yami recoiled like he'd burned him, but, somehow, for one reason or another, his hand never jerked from his cousin's; the sensation was unnerving for the silver-haired teen but at the same time it was somehow empowering.

"I—I—I—"

"Am stuttering," he snickered, amused out of his mind.

The red eyes flashed with indignation and his mouth no longer moved for a moment, his voice dead before finally he managed to speak again, the word caught in his throat strained and startled as well as terrified. "Bakura…"

"Hey, you know I'm not judging," he said simply, raising an eyebrow when Yami looked like he wanted to jump out of the bed and run; yes, the red-eyed teen knew that but it made it no easier to even  _think_ the phrase that he had spoken. "Come on, Yami, talk to me because you know Seto isn't going to be happy about this and Malik…well…"

He trailed off laughing and Yami knew exactly what he meant, that Malik could give less of a shit about it as long as he got to poke fun at them in the meantime and Yami didn't get hurt. And pain, as far as Malik was concerned, only qualified if you could see it on your flesh.

Bakura stopped laughing a full minute later but the amusement was cruel in its wide abundance, gleaming in those dark coffee brown eyes. "So, come on, spill it. This is the only chance you've got to talk about it anyways. You know I don't extend offers for more than a limited amount of time."

"I…I can't…"

"Yami—"

"No, Bakura, I  _can't_!" he breathed out, eyes drowning with pain and fear and leaving his cousin staring for a long moment before nodding, sighing and releasing his wrist. "I'm sorry…"

"You're apologizing to  _me?_ " he asked, incredulously, almost wanting to sneer at the irony but fighting it off in order to shake his head. "You're a fucking mess."

He turned away because he couldn't face him anymore, instead drawing his hand in to rest it over his stomach, chewing his cheek hard and filling his mouth with blood.

Bakura could have been cruel and said that he had a month before that offer expired as his first thought was, but that sadism didn't exist in him at the moment, not when he could see that Yami was struggling to keep from trembling as it was.

"I'll listen when you want to talk."

Yami's head snapped around to stare at him with shocked eyes but Bakura had already walked out of the room, disappearing down the hallway before he could even think straight.

* * *

He was high when the man in the suit and tie walked in.

It was kind of funny because he had never really been high before. Especially not off of simple opium, but yep, he was high.

And he thought the little splash on that tie looked like a rubber duck with the Grinch's head. Which was why he laughed ten minutes straight after he entered the room.

The doctors were confused and concerned but his monitors read he was okay so they didn't bother with it after that though a nurse was kept nearby at all times in case something happened.

"Sennen, Atem."

Several people looked over at the mention of his name and Yami wrinkled his nose at him before hissing, "Why are you so loud?" before laughing again. "Or maybe I'm just quiet."

The man in the suit looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Sennen, Atem."

Oh yes, now people were really staring into the room at them.

Yami gave them angry looks before turning back, narrowing his eyes as he fought off the haze that made his stomach crawl slightly. "What?" he muttered, but it came out as a bark of a word and he couldn't understand why.

"You are Sennen, Atem, right?"

"I…go by Yami…most of the time…" He blinked and scrunched his face up before looking at the splatter on his suit and snickering again. "Grinch-ducky."

"What?"

He waved a hand dismissively and the man merely stared. "All right…so…Yami, do you know why I am here?"

He stared at him like he was bat-shit crazy for a moment and then slowly nodded. "Seto…said something about you…coming by at some point." He pursed his lips. "Something…about a lawsuit?"

"Yes. Did he explain what the lawsuit was about?"

Yami thought for a long time, really searched and sought through it all before very slowly shaking his head. "Nope."

The man in the suit sighed and leaned forward. "I am here to discuss with you the lawsuit against your parents. For domestic abuse in which your father was the one who put you in the hospital."

Yami blinked once, long and slow, and then tilted his head before trying to think it over. "I don't remember. What was the question?"

"There was no question."

"I like your Grinch-ducky. He's very cute."

And then he was staring at him like he was a lunatic. "Um…thank you…?"

"You know what else is cute? Puppies. Puppies are cute. I always wanted a puppy. But my father always said no because I was never a good boy. So I was never allowed to have a puppy—do you have a puppy?"

He was talking a million words a second and the man couldn't understand for the life of him. "No?" he questioned, sounding utterly confused.

"Oh, well that sucks. Are you a cat person? I don't know if I like cats. They have those sharp nail-talon-claw things. Did you know that if they get in a fight, they could tear each other's stomachs open with them? They're like swords. Someone should just get a massive thing of cat claws and use them to kill everyone else. I think that would make the perfect comic book character…or serial killer. I don't like cereal killers. They kill cereal."

Something about that statement was wrong, even to the doped up boy on the bed who furrowed his brows in confusion after a moment and then thought it over with his eyes narrowed and his nose wrinkling.

"Wait…that didn't make sense. Like…at all."

"Um, ahem, Mr. Sennen—may I call you Atem?"

"What? No. I'm Yami. Ya-mi. Like yummy but with an 'aw' sound. Yami.  _Yami_. Ya-mi." He paused. "It's Japanese. Did you know that?"

The man let out a small sigh and rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling; why?

"Well, we are in Japan, Mr. Sennen."

"Oh yeah…you know, I'll never understand how my first name is Egyptian and my last name is Japanese. Does that make any sense to you? No? I didn't think so." He paused again. "I'm kind of hungry. And tired. But I don't want to eat and I don't want to sleep either. What do you do when you get like this?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed the corners of his eyes before shaking his head. Again.  _Why_? "I need you to focus for a minute. Can you do that?"

"A minute exactly? As in sixty seconds?"

"Maybe a little longer, but yes."

Yami narrowed his eyes into slits and then stuck his tongue out the left corner of his mouth and curved it upwards, giving a vigorous nod.

"Okay, so here is what I need to know. Was your father there the day that you were thrown down the stairs?"

Thrown? He thought he was pushed…

Hmm…

He thought it over for a long time, sought through his mind for some kind of trigger but all he could hear in his drug-induced haze was his own voice, desperate and broken and fragmented in ways that made no sense.

"I don't know. I can't remember. I have a concussion."

"Yes, so I heard."

He was sighing and Yami felt irritated with that, glaring slightly.

"How does your head feel, by the way?"

"Light."

He snorted and smirked slightly. "Has your father ever hurt you?"

Yami thought about it for a long time, because it took a while to get through the haze in his mind, and then very slowly nodded a couple of times, one slow and the other more vigorous.

"How would you describe it?"

Yami could not think of the technical term and so instead looked around for a moment before finding his pillow behind his head and bringing it over his face in an overly dramatic show of smothering, giggling when he pulled it away and said, "Ta da!"

"He smothered you?"

Was that the word for it?

"No." He paused, because he was thinking out loud instead of in his head, something he would never do if he were sober. "Punished. He  _punished_ —no, no, not punished.  _Disciplined_. He  _disciplined_ me."

The man watched the sixteen-year-old nod vigorously.

"Disciplined. He only did it when I was bad."

"What kind of things did he do when you were…bad?"

Yami took a long time again, counted on his fingers, and then lost track of the question, humming and grabbing his pillow before playing with it instead; the man stared at him for a long minute before realizing what had just happened.

"Mr. Sennen?"

He stopped short of playing with the inanimate object to turn his head and give him an owlish look, blinking before tilting his head and murmuring, "When did you get here?"

And that was the final straw. He got up and left the room while Yami watched him go and called, "Bye-bye now."

* * *

"You were doped up."

Yami looked at the phone for a long moment. "Hmm? What kind of greeting is that, Seto?" he complained. "Not even a hello. Just 'you were doped up'. If this is something that you want to make a greeting between us, I have to say I don't like it."

The brunet sighed on the other end. "And now you're fucking lucid."

"I am," he agreed, grabbing the phone's cord and twisting it around his finger because he was bored. "But you wouldn't have called otherwise, right?"

"The lawyer came in earlier. Do you remember that happening?"

Yami thought it over for a moment. "I remember he had a stain on his tie that looked like a rubber ducky with the Grinch's head. That's really the most I remember."

Seto snickered and then turned back to his businessman demeanor. "Yami, do you remember the subject of your conversation?"

"Considering I was high, I do not believe I do, Seto. But please, remind me anyways."

"The lawsuit—"

"Wait, who are you suing now?"

There was a loud sigh. "Fuck, I forgot I didn't tell you yet."

"Tell me what?" Yami demanded before his eyes grew wide. "Oh no, you can't, Seto, that's not—"

"It's called abuse and your dad can't just show up out of nowhere and just fucking do that," the brunet snapped at him. "You were officially emancipated before that happened and he had no right to show up like he did. You're sixteen and you're emancipated—how did he even get a key?"

"You do realize that the house is technically  _his_ , right, cousin? Because honestly, I was not the least bit surprised that he had a spare key just so that he could pop in at random intervals if he wanted to."

"Makes you wonder what else is in there."

"Cameras."

"Excuse me?"

"I said cameras. There are cameras in there."

"What the—Yami, why didn't you mention this before?"

"It never crossed my mind. Besides, I got rid of them." Now he just probably had to get rid of the new batch that his father had most likely planted in the house while he was unconscious.

Seto sighed again. "Goddamn it."

"Look, it's fine. They're gone. It doesn't matter. The point is that you didn't  _tell_ me you were going to get a lawsuit filed against them for child abuse."

"Yeah, I didn't think I would have to after you were emancipated. Just goes to show that we can't all think of everything."

Yami leaned back against the pillow again. "No, I don't remember anything about meeting him but his tie. I liked his Grinch-ducky."

Seto snorted and snickered. "Dear god, only you."

He let out a small chuckle. "It  _was_. It was a Grinch-ducky."

"I think I need to reconsider my favorite cousin."

"Hey, bitch, you can't just throw me out of rank like that. I will  _fight_ for that spot."

Both of them laughed softly.

"Did I make a lasting impression?"

"Oh yes. He thought your acting skills were beautiful, Yami."

"Acting skills? Oh fuck, what did I do?"

"Apparently you grabbed your pillow and pretended to smother yourself and then said 'ta da' at the end."

"Shit, what was the question?"

"What your dad has done to you."

"Oh…"

"I never knew he smothered you."

"He killed Bean. Of course he would smother me."

Seto was silent for a long time. "He did that for some reason so small I don't even remember it."

Yami sighed. "It doesn't matter. It's over and done with."

"Yami, if you think you're going to defend your parents, I'll go over your head."

"That was the whole point of this call, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"I make no plans to protect them. I hope you bury them." And then he hung up.

* * *

The medication they put him on brought him violently vibrant dreams on both ends of the spectrum. On one hand, he could fall asleep to find Yugi waiting for him with a wide smirk on his face and bright blue-violet eyes, voice lowered drastically to purr sultrily while Yami melted into him until there were no boundaries between them, their limbs tied and their bodies moving as if they couldn't live without feeling the other against them, in them, around them. On the other side of the spectrum, he was hit with both memories that he had suppressed for years and ones that he had pushed away to his subconscious in order to keep from drowning in the pain of them.

There was the basement with Bakura, in which he had lost his mind as quickly as he had realized the door was locked and the lights were out; he could hear himself snarling and his fingers would grasp at his cousin for a second in order to slash at him with his nails. Occasionally the albino's blood would spray across his face but other times he would smack him back and Yami would find himself once again clawing at the door.

Sometimes his aunt opened the door and he stumbled out and other times his parents who would stare at him in shock, at the way he had destroyed his nails and blood was welling from his fingers violently like fountains of red. Occasionally he found himself getting dragged by the back of his head by his father while his mother watched and turned a blind eye towards the punishments for his "wasting time".

Other times he ended up being picked up by his mom who would take him back to his room and lay him on the bed while asking how he ended up down there. Sometimes the basement morphed into the pantry and a panic would set in that left him breathing hard and scratching at the door until the shards of wood tore his fingers open but the door always refused to open as he needed it and so he would be stuck like that. It would feel like hours before finally he would think to pick the lock, to utilize some kind mental preparation that he had ignored for years.

Occasionally he woke in the middle of one of these panic attacks to the nurses all trying to lower his rapidly rising blood pressure or check on him, but other times he woke to voices that made his heart beat too fast because he was sure they were his parents but turned out to be Seto or Bakura or Malik leaning over him trying to wake him.

Once or twice he thought he saw Yugi, waking in a delusional state with the smaller teen leaning over him and pushing at his shoulders to wake him, the movements rough and shaky, only to be brought to attention by his doctor or even Mai, Mahado or Mana who would ask if he was okay until he felt like he was reliving the same moment every five seconds of his life.

He would have to reassure them that it was not a fight with Yugi that had placed him in the hospital because despite his wildcard nature, Yugi wasn't going to harm him; he might have beaten the shit out of Imori when he wouldn't leave him alone or Alister when he kept throwing a volleyball into the back of his head during gym when he was supposed to be serving the ball, but he would not harm him. He would have to remind them that he wasn't talking to Yugi at the time it happened; of course he never mentioned why he had been unable to face him, but he had been adamant in his refusal to have the blame placed on the smaller teen. He would have to pretend that they believed him because it was pretty obvious by the looks on those three's faces that they did not. And he would have to pretend that he wasn't afraid of the moment they left the room.

And he would be forced to pretend that he made his voice even and calm enough, easy and level enough that they believed him when he told Mai it wasn't his father or he told Mahado that he was okay or he spoke to Mana about how he was doing.

Most of the time he was honestly too afraid to close his eyes but others he was ready to drown in the fear or melt into Yugi, to fall into that world where he knew a million different things could happen and he was under the will of his drugged mind.

It wasn't until the last night that he was given a dream of actual use.

* * *

"This is starting to piss me off," Bakura hissed at him, thrusting the papers into his hands while Yami looked them over and groaned, Malik snickering in amusement while Seto rolled his eyes and Mokuba looked at Yami's monitors.

"Yeah, well, it's your last day playing errand boy anyways," he replied, smirking slightly.

"So you'll be at school tomorrow?"

All of them spun around at the new voice, all five cousins wide-eyed before Seto's narrowed, Yami's blinked and became normal in size again, Malik snorted and turned away, Mokuba looked at Yami and then the newcomer and back again, and Bakura looked annoyed out of his mind.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the silver-haired teen sniped.

Yami groaned and covered his face with his hand, shaking his head while Malik snickered and Seto gave a small smirk, turning away again.

"Hey, don't go around embarrassing our little cousin's friends," Malik cooed, reaching over and pinching Yami's cheek, making him growl and swat his hand away, the two psychos laughing their asses off.

"You know, your mom warned me about this, Malik," he stated, crossing his arms and tilting his head when the purple-eyed teen raised an eyebrow. "She said that one day your girl genes would kick in. I thought it would be further down the road, but still, better late than never, right?"

"Girl genes?" the blond echoed, blinking in confusion.

"Oh, that's right. You didn't know. Sorry to burst your little bubble, cousin, but you were born a girl," he said, giving a dead serious look with a tilt of his head, eyes sympathetic as he blinked them once. "Your mother warned me that you might be a jealous little blonde when you grew up. I guess she was right. Considering you're getting all green-eyed about me having another person in the room that isn't family."

Bakura threw his head back laughing while Seto snickered and Mokuba covered his mouth, eyes wide as he watched them, Malik gawking while Yami winked and then turned back to Tristan.

"Son of a…"

"Don't insult your mother even more," Yami quipped.

Bakura fell over, laughing like a hyena at the blond's stunned expression in which a small bit of red was appearing beneath his caramel-toned skin. Mokuba turned to his brother and pulled on his coat so that he leaned over, whispering just loud enough for the others to hear.

"Is he really a girl?"

Yami burst out laughing and Malik gawked at his youngest cousin, glaring while Bakura was wheezing and rolling on the floor, Seto chuckling and shaking his head. Tristan shook his head, laughing quietly.

"Yes," Bakura barked out. "He's totally a girl!"

"That's why his hair looks like that. He likes to fluff it with the blow dryer," Yami added. "Got to have enough volume."

"You guys are going to ruin him," Seto snickered.

"He should know the truth," the red-eyed teen said with a shrug and a smirk thrown over his shoulder. "So that if he ever needs his hair done he knows who to go to."

"Hey!" Malik cried out, annoyed as the other four dissolved into laughter again. "Fucking assholes."

"Now, now, that's not the language for such a  _pretty_ girl," Yami chided, moving out of the way quickly when the blond made a swipe for him, glaring behind a gleam of laughter that made his purple eyes dance. Yami knew eventually Malik would get him back but it was too fun to let it die just like that.

"Mr. Sennen?"

All five of their heads snapped towards the nurse, startled but relieved when she simply handed him a clipboard with his release forms, the red-eyed teen signing happily and turning to his brunet cousin.

"Can you get me a soda?  _Please_?"

Seto opened his mouth to refuse outright but then the other three crowed, "Fuck yeah! Sodas!" and left him groaning in annoyance before belatedly realizing his brother had just cheered with them, shooting him a sharp look that had Mokuba looking around with feigned innocence.

"Please?" Yami tried again.

The brunet was silent for a moment but then sighed and rolled his eyes, nodding. "Yeah, all right. Sprite?"

"Please."

Blue eyes rolled again as Bakura and Malik shot past Tristan and out the door, both of them leaving the Kaiba brothers and Yami in the dust, the red-eyed teen watching them with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't the least bit surprised by their behavior but his entire family constantly said he was the younger one of the trio and he was honestly starting to wonder about that. Surely it counted if he was more mature mentally, right?

Hmm…

His eyes flickered and settled on Tristan's.

"What are you doing here?"

The brunet blinked once, obviously unnerved by the sharp gleam of predatory interest that entered his eyes, his natural defense mechanism that usually left people a little too scared to truly mess with him. Natural intimidation had saved him from a lot of fights when it came down to it.

"I heard you were in the hospital and I figured I would come and see how you were."

Yami narrowed his eyes so that the lashes cast shadows that made his pupils dilate and eat away at the red of his irises. "Really? And why is that?"

He shrugged. "Look, personally, I don't have anything against you. Joey and Ushio might but I don't. If I did, do you really think I would have told you it was Tea and Joey who sent the picture around?"

"You don't know me. I don't know what you think you're trying to accomplish here but—"

"Dude, calm down first of all. I'm not trying to do anything. Geez, I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Yami was quiet for a moment. "Why?"

"Because I just…I don't have anything against you and as long as I've known you, you've actually been pretty cool. I don't care about you and Yugi hooking up"—he had a second where he started to backtrack when the anger and resentment mixed with a fog of pain hit his eyes but it was gone in a blink and he had no idea if he had simply imagined it—"although if you were gay, you should have gone for someone else considering you guys' social status."

"Social status," Yami breathed out, blinking once and then chuckling softly with a shake of his head, smirking before sighing quietly, the light in his eyes cruel and sardonic. "Isn't that a joke? By all standards, he should be the one being dragged through the mud for this shit, not me."

"Huh?" Tristan asked, confused by the statement.

Yami waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing. Forget I fucking said anything." He rubbed at his temple when it laced with pain for a split second. "Musing out loud, I suppose. Stupid stuff."

The brunet raised an eyebrow, blinking several times and then nodded slightly with a small smirk on his face. "Anyways, you guys really screwed up as far as picking out fuck buddies goes."

The red-eyed teen let out a huff. "Didn't we?" he agreed spitefully, making Tristan stare with a confused look, visibly startled by the venom in his words. "Anyways, to answer your question from earlier, yes. I am going to be back in school tomorrow."

"That's cool."

" _Cool_? The place is a fucking hellhole and I don't even know why the fuck I  _bother_ going there. I should never have even done it the first year. I should have done online schooling instead."

"What? You're required to go to school."

"Wrong. I am merely required to  _learn_. There is no law that requires my body physically present inside of a school. That is why parents get away with home schooling their kids." He paused after a moment, realizing that Tristan didn't deserve the anger that he was displaying, clearing his throat slightly. "Sorry. I'm just not having that great of a day. It has nothing to do with you being here."

The brunet simply nodded, not the least bit disturbed by this. "Sure."

Yami watched him for a moment and then tilted his head slightly. "Were you even surprised?" he finally muttered.

"Not really," he admitted, shaking his head slightly. "Yugi started looking at Tea differently and he wasn't exactly the most subtle when he was staring at you before. I mean, I know I teased him a little, but it was mostly to just make him notice what he was doing. He sometimes acts without really thinking about what he's doing…Besides, there was just something about the way the two of you acted around each other, even when he was pissed off at you. For as long as I've known him, no one has ever managed to rattle his cage like you did when you…finger-fucked Tea. And the day that they made fun of Yugi for letting you do the whole project, you looked like you wanted to snap. I saw your face when you looked over at our table. You looked like you were checking on Yugi and you got pissed off when you saw that none of us were going to do anything."

"Why didn't you?"

"Yugi can fight his own battles," the brunet said easily, smiling slightly with a shake of his head. "Joey underestimates him and Ushio thinks he could take him on because he's so small, but I know that Yugi could kick ass if he needed to. Besides that, he didn't look too inclined to do anything either. He looked pissed, yeah, but not enough to actually pull a stunt to embarrass her for trying to embarrass him."

Yami nodded slowly.

"Besides that, I'm willing to bet twenty bucks that he took his frustrations out on you." Tristan smirked when Yami's eyes widened slightly, surprised at the statement. "Don't look so surprised. He does it a lot."

He flinched. "He's done that before?"

The brunet stared at him for a moment and then snorted and held his hands up. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like  _that_ ," he amended quickly. "I meant that he will dig his teeth into the nearest person when he gets mad. Doesn't matter if they had anything to do with it or not, he's not the most levelheaded one when it comes to that kind of thing."

Yami glowered. "He's a fucking asshole," he spat, baring his teeth. "I don't even fucking understand why I thought any of it was okay in the first place."

Tristan shook his head. "Believe it or not, life isn't about what's okay, Yami. And it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else but you and Yugi."

"But it  _doesn't_ make sense to me!" he snapped, scowling. "Nothing makes sense to me anymore."

The brunet shrugged slightly. "I always heard that confusion helped with making decisions in life," he said lightly, snickering when Yami blinked once and furrowed his brows, tilting his head in question at the statement. "The point is, it's better to mess up now and know later what you shouldn't do than find out later what you should have done."

Yami stayed quiet for a moment and then stared. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore," he admitted quietly.

"Yugi has that effect on you," Tristan snickered, knowing Yami understood the statement without more words by the way he clenched his jaw. But his eyes were questioning, dark and dangerous in their desire for the answer that he sought, the words lying lifelessly on his tongue, not about to asked, so Tristan gave it to him without prompt. "I'm observant."

For a moment neither of them spoke and then the red-eyed teen looked at him slowly, drawing him to memory in his mind. "Why do you hang out with Joey if you don't even believe in half the crap that he does?"

"We've been best friends for years, and we're as close as brothers without the shared blood, Yami. You don't just give up on someone that means so much to you because of something so simple as a disagreement."

He opened his mouth to object, to say that Yugi had given up on him, so why shouldn't he have the right to do the same, but then stopped short and instead stared blankly for a long horribly drawn out minute and a half.

"He makes me feel disgusting."

Tristan couldn't help it when he burst out laughing. "You let him do it."

"I don't know how to make it stop."

"Maybe it's not meant to."

Yami wanted to ask why something so vicious and disgusting and stupid and disturbing could possibly not be meant to go away, but instead ended up staring in response, puzzled and frustrated, feeling sick to his stomach.

If it wasn't meant to be stopped, what would become of him?

He couldn't stand being a hollow shell…not again, not after having been that way for fourteen years. If he had to go back to playing the puppet while others pulled his strings, making him dance to a tune he didn't want, he swore that he might just end up killing himself in the meantime, if he didn't die beforehand.

* * *

"Your boyfriend is back."

How many times had he heard that in just the last hour? He rolled his eyes. It made no sense. Yami was still in the hospital. He was being kept to make sure he was healing properly and all that crap. It was that fucking simple.

So why the fuck were they all jumping at the chance to sneer that at him if it didn't even make any fucking sense?

Yugi grabbed his tray and ignored the girl who started to talk but when one of them started whispering, he jumped onto the table, and he wasn't sure  _why_ he did it, but he was suddenly shouting, "Tea Gardner has emotional instability because she was born a guy!" so loudly that everyone in the entire cafeteria gawked and then looked at her; a few moved away while she started trying to tell them that she wasn't. "Joey Wheeler has an animal fetish, ladies, so if you have a little lap dog, you might want to keep him away from it or you're going to end up being a third wheel on your own fucking dates!" And the best was, of course, Ushio. "Ushio has a micro-penis the size of my pinkie!"

There was laughter, there were glares, and then Yugi was smirking at them and winking before walking off while others laughed harder at the three victims of Yugi's extremely mild wrath.

And the only reason he didn't mess with Tristan? Because he hadn't messed with Yugi.

Tea had sneered at him constantly, Joey always made jokes about Yugi being Yami's bitch, and Ushio even said that he would make Yugi his bitch when he wanted to.

When. Not if. When. As if he had  _plans_  to do it.

Yugi narrowed his eyes. That would never happen. He knew that much.

He'd take Ushio's eyes out before he let that happen.

The bell rang and he, along with the rest of the sheep in the pin, wandered off to his next class.

Yugi had made himself into a bad boy for a reason. It was simple, really.

While he still had his basic kindness, his heart which abhorred violence, he turned himself into the bad boy.

To make himself unlovable.

His parents walked out on him when he was young. His grandfather was never around. His friends—ha,  _what_ friends?—kept him around because he was smart. His bullies did nothing but reinforce the idea that he was not meant to be loved, that it would never happen, and he had been okay with that. He had been happy with it. He made himself even more unlovable to make himself feel better.

Bullies couldn't get past the wall he built so their taunts did nothing to him but bore him.

Those people he thought were his "friends" were kept at arm's length so that he wouldn't have to deal with it when they left.

And he didn't miss them at all. Well, aside from Tristan, a little, because he was okay out of the four of them.

But his crush on Tea? He was starting to think it was just sexual frustration, pent up and taking form in some kind of strange infatuation with the brunette because he honestly couldn't understand what he ever saw in her.

Yes, she was pretty, with those wide azure eyes and that heart-shaped face, but she was so plain and nasty in personality and he didn't understand  _why_ he would  _ever_ have felt anything for her in the first place.

He leaned back in his seat and spun his pencil around in his fingers until class ended, not bothering with notes or doing the lecture, even flat out ignoring the teacher as she called his name.

He was in the bathroom when he walked in.

"Yami is out of the hospital."

Yugi looked up at him through the reflection in the mirror and then slowly turned his head to regard him. "So?"

"I thought you might want to know."

"How do you know anyways?"

"I went to check on him."

Yugi twisted his entire body around and stared. "W-what? Why would you do that?"

"Well, he's not my best friend, but I did feel bad for the kid. I mean…he's never exactly done anything to me so whatever. Besides, I just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"He doesn't need pity, Tristan."

"I never said he did, Yugi," the brunet said quietly, shaking his head. "I just meant that…never mind."

He wanted his answer but he didn't have the energy to ask for it.

"Anyways, he's out and he's here."

Yugi nearly choked. "What?"

"He's at school today. He came in after lunch but he was with the guidance counselor for a couple hours before that because the teachers wanted to make sure he could still write and stuff in class."

The good thing about Tristan? He had a free period after lunch and spent it in the office with the principal and guidance counselors and he got to listen in on some stuff while he delivered slips to students who were going home early or whatever.

"So then…he's back but why are you telling me this exactly…?"

"He'll be in your eighth period today instead of his."

Yugi swallowed hard. "Why?"

"Because his teacher wants to be able to teach his class as fast as possible without Yami slowing them down."

"That's fucked up."

"Eh, that's life."

Yugi nodded once. "Thanks Tristan."

He nodded back and gave him a small weak smile before turning and walking out again; the smallest teen in the school leaned back against the sink and narrowed his eyes. So Yami actually  _was_ back.

After hearing all the shit and not seeing him, he had thought they were all fucking around to see if they could get a reaction out of him. But he was really back…

At eighth period Yami did come to the classroom, did hand the teacher a slip and was told to sit down in the vacant seat…right between him and Ushio. How lovely a seating arrangement. Yami ignored them both pointedly but even Yugi knew he was losing patience when Ushio started flicking pieces of lead at him. It was halfway through the class when Yami turned and snapped, "Do it one more time, you little fucker, and I'm going to break your fingers, tear them off and then feed them to you" in a dangerous voice that made all of the surrounding students turn towards him with wide eyes.

"What? Pay attention, morons," he spat, turning back to the board where the teacher was looking at them in confusion.

Ushio scoffed and then laughed out loud while Yami drummed a single fingernail against the desk, going back to ignoring him even after he started flicking lead at his cheek again; it was after class that things blew up.

Ushio actually grabbed him. Yugi struggled to get out of his grip because he was mentally and physically drained from being so close to Yami, but his attempts to escape did nothing but make the massive boy laugh as he led him to the bathroom, scaring out the other guys and pushing him facedown against the ground.

And it wasn't even a  _sanitary_ bathroom. He could see spilled water from the sinks not even two centimeters from his face and his skin crawled with the desperation to get away but he didn't think he had the energy.

Yugi struggled but there was not much he could do. He was too tired. Fuck, he was too tired to even care about Ushio about to rape him even as his pants and boxers were pulled down and his ass was exposed.

He was too tired, that is, until Ushio went flying straight over him and into the other wall with a massive thudding noise and a groan that seemed to make the floor vibrate against his left cheek. Yugi pushed himself up to his hands and knees, glancing over his shoulder and going bug-eyed when he saw who it was; Yami didn't look at him, shaking out his braced wrist and frowning a little before snarling, "I swear, Ushio, if my hand doesn't heal right, I'm taking one of yours."

Ushio got to his feet and started towards him. "Came to protect your little boyfriend?"

"Actually, I thought I told you what I came for in class, Ushio." He walked around Yugi and stopped a couple of feet away from the taller boy. "I don't make idle threats. I said I would break your fingers and I will. But maybe I'll do worse than that."

Yugi got out of his stupor long enough to pull his pants up and move out of the way when Ushio charged him; Yami fell on his back but, unlike Yugi expected, he rolled and kicked the taller boy straight into the other wall before kicking off and landing on his feet, looking at his wrist again before turning back.

"Get up. Get the fuck up so I can beat your fucking face in."

"Whoa, what the fuck is—Yami, stop!"

Yami looked over at both of them with wide eyes and Yugi swore he saw his eyes turn a little brighter, his irises seeming to have been shadowed with some kind of blackish-gray tint the second before they spoke; his memory bit at his focus for a moment and his skin crawled as he realized he recognized that darker shade from when he had gone through Yami's phone. "What the hell are you guys…?" he muttered, trailing off and looking at Ushio again.

"We came to see if you were ready to go and then we walked in on this shit," Bakura answered, raising an eyebrow. "Oh look, someone mistook his size for being weak again."

"Damn shame," Malik snickered before glancing at Yugi. "Oh, hey, there's the shrimp."

Bakura stopped short of going to mess with Ushio to look over and stare. "Huh."

Yami shook his hand out a second before punching and Ushio stumbled but didn't fall and lashed out only to get thin air when the small teen moved out of the way and started backing up.

"You know, I should thank you for what you did. I mean, finding Yami," Bakura murmured just as he grabbed Ushio by the back of his shirt and tugged him off his feet with a lazy flick of his wrist. "But I think we'll save that for another time, don't you?"

Malik started laughing when he wrapped his arm around Yugi's shoulders; Yugi froze in surprise and stared at him with wide eyes, but the blond merely directed him back to the hallway with a simple "Don't get lost now. Go on home. We have some things to talk to Ushio about before we leave."

Yugi stared at him and opened his mouth only to have him bark, "Get the fuck out of here" to which he backed up steadily, still facing him, and then took off running.

* * *

Ushio was not at school for the next three days and when he did return he was walking with a limp and he had cuts and bruises all over his face as well as a broken left hand; Bakura and Malik gave him little waves and winks and blew him raspberries that sent him scurrying while Yami nudged them and told them to stop, smirking the entire time. Yugi had to admit he was confused by it all, but whatever. It was okay.

At least he had retained whatever virtue he still had left.

And then he nearly cackled at the thought. That was hilarious.

Unlike usual, however, instead of sitting with him, Yami sat with his cousins and occasionally the two of them would talk to him and gesture towards him and the red-eyed boy would look at him and then turn away just as fast.

And it was weird because Yugi felt a little out of orbit when Yami was not there. He felt grounded around the red-eyed teen but now he didn't have even that much going for him and it was strange by all means. He felt like someone had taken the ground out from beneath his feet and when he really focused hard enough, there was a pang in his side that both stung and burned but mostly just sent sparks of pain and disgust and dismay through him. But then, if he really focused on it again, it came from a completely different area that he completely refused to acknowledge. No, he would not acknowledge it.

There was no way, because he was unlovable.

Maybe Yami wasn't, but he was.

Besides, all the couples he knew of always ended up dead somewhere along the way. Something burned out. Things never remained the same.

His stomach twisted.

No, he did not care about Yami in that way. He didn't care for anyone in that way.

And why would he? Attachments just meant more pain in the long run.

Pain he didn't need or want.

And just like that, the pain in his side and chest burned and made his stomach twist painfully.

For fuck's sake…

"Why aren't you over there sitting with your boyfriend?" someone sneered at him.

"I am not gay!" he spat angrily. The statement came out a little louder than he expected and every single person in the cafeteria turned their attention to him with wide eyes…well, all except Yami who was staring at the tabletop like it was the most important thing in the world.

It was a quick lay. That was all it was.

Yami was stupid to get attached.

Yugi was smart for keeping his head on straight.

No, Yugi was not about to get caught in some kind of loveless bullshit relationship with someone else. That was stupid.

Yami was so fucking  _stupid_.

"And you want to know what you little whore?" he continued loudly, for all of them to hear as no one had moved. "I didn't kiss that nerd and he didn't kiss me, okay? It's fucking photo-shopped and you know why? Because Tea is a goddamned unstable motherfucking  _bitch_ with no common sense. Because. She. Was. Born. A. Boy."

People were gawking for a moment before he jumped up onto the table again.

"Anyone else want to ask why I don't like her anymore? Because I found that shit out. So get your fucking facts straight before I kick some fucking ass!" he shouted. "Joey is a fucking homophobic idiot and Tea is a dumb boy-turned-girl  _twat_ with no common sense. The photo was shopped and you all are fucking morons to think that we  _ever_ did something like that."

Bakura covered his mouth with his hand and laughed.

Malik started snickering.

Yami looked at Yugi with a cold expression.

Yugi gave him a wide smirk. "Photo. Shopped." He popped the "p" so that it echoed across the room. "As in edited pictures. So if you bitch ass fuckers want to fight over something, fight over how stupid you all fucking are for believing it. Oh, and before any of you idiots bring it up, the last couple of weeks? We were doing our fucking project. Not hanging out. So why don't you all fuck off before I stick my foot up your asses?"

He jumped down again and walked out of the cafeteria while others gawked and whispered, some laughing at what he had said about Tea and others glaring at Joey, the homophobe.

But then, that actually was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	13. You Have To Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter is rated M for mentions of masturbation, VERY brief mention of suicide by medication, drugging against will, homosexual slander and underage drinking  
> Masturbation Warning: Masturbation is mentioned in the first part of chapter. Semi-graphic but in a joking manner. Nothing serious.  
> Suicide by Medication Warning: DOES NOT HAPPEN. It was just a real quick thought. Split second.  
> Drugging Against Will Warning: NOT for malicious means. Yami needed his medicine.  
> Homosexual Slander Warning: Homosexual slander (use of "fag/faggot") is used in fifth part of chapter.  
> Underage Drinking Warning: Underage drinking is mentioned in final part of chapter.

Chapter XIII: You Have To Go

"So how long has it been since you jerked off?"

Yami choked and spat out his gummy bear, gawking at the silver-haired teen as they went through the lunch line; several people behind them started laughing and Malik clapped him on the back, snickering. Yugi, standing a little ahead of them, let his eyes flicker in his direction curiously, watching as the red-eyed teen blushed and then looked at his lost gummy bear dejectedly.

"Fuck you, Bakura."

"No, I'm totally being serious," Bakura argued, laughing. "I mean, you were in the hospital for what? A week? You've been out for three days now, so that's like…almost but not really even  _close_ to two weeks."

Both Yami and Malik started laughing as their brown-eyed cousin backtracked.

"Anyways, that's like a whole week and three days of not jerking off. And your wrist is probably going to take another few weeks to heal—"

Yami clamped his hand over his mouth as he and Malik shook their heads, still laughing softly. "While I very much appreciate the play by play of my jacking off habits, I am not really in the mood to discuss this right now. This a public place, remember?"

Bakura ran his tongue all over Yami's hand and the red-eyed teen looked like he wanted to cry for a moment as he pulled it back and stared at the glistening skin. "Why the fuck should I care that this is a public place? Honestly, Yami, I thought you would know that people talk about this kind of stuff more often than not. I mean, shit, I listened to one guy talking about how he fucked his boyfriend against the flagpole one night."

Yugi actually cried from laughing so hard, drawing the other three's attention and making them stare before he waved them off and wiped at his eyes, grabbing his pizza slice and trying not to draw any more attention.

Joey loved that stupid flagpole. It was his favorite spot in the mornings, something he would lean against while talking to the others as if he had some kind of power over what had been  _his_ group. And some gay couple had had sex all over it. It was like one of those strange revenge dreams come true. The one where you didn't ask for it but you  _had_ to be ecstatic because it happened in the first place.

"You have no shame, Bakura. Let's hope your sister doesn't inherit that."

"Bitch please, I'm practicing not cursing and being as…shameless," Bakura argued, rolling his eyes and grabbing a plate with pizza as well.

"Right, by pretending Mokuba doesn't know all of that stuff," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Whoa, wait a second, what the fuck does that mean?" Malik objected.

Yami stopped short, grabbing some French fries and staring at the two as they gave him confused looks. "What? You guys didn't…?" He burst out laughing. "Oh shit, you actually thought—fuck, you guys are clueless. Mokuba heard all about this shit while he was in the hospital. All the nurses would go to his room to gossip. He knows a lot more about sex than you two probably do."

Bakura and Malik opened and closed their mouths while Yami kept laughing and placed the French fries on Bakura's plate.

"What the hell…?"

"You owe me. You made me spit up my favorite gummy bear."

Malik burst out laughing and Bakura huffed. "Fuck. Fine, all right." He rolled his eyes. "Wait, so he  _knew_ what Malik said about…?" His eyes flickered briefly towards Yugi who felt it but didn't return it, opting instead to grab some spoons even though he was pretty sure he wasn't going to use them. "You and your girl shacking up?"

The smaller look-alike's fingers suddenly stopped working for a moment and his eyes flickered over while Yami laughed, "No shit. Why do you think Seto didn't give a fuck?"

"Wait, Seto— _Kaiba_?" a girl behind them asked, wide-eyed.

All three of them gave her mirroring expressions of disbelief.

"Butt the fuck out and stay in your little corner over there," Bakura snapped at her before turning back. "That makes so much more sense."

"Oh, I bet it does," Yami chuckled, shaking his head.

"So, back to the subject at  _hand_ "—Yami and Malik both groaned at this—"have you tried using your  _left_?"

Yugi choked on his laughter and earned three blank stares while he waved them off again, shaking his head.

"That would probably be difficult though," he continued, contemplating, smirking at his cousin's distressed face. "I mean, wouldn't it be like writing with your left hand or something? Maybe you should just get laid. Or are your ribs still too fucked for that?"

"He's ambidextrous," Malik argued suddenly, smirking when Yami groaned and covered his face with his hands, shaking his head, knowing immediately that this would be where the blond got him back for his teasing in the hospital; he just had to hope that they would eventually tire of the conversation before the end of the day. "So, technically, he could jerk off with both hands if he wanted to."

Bakura gave him a look of pure respect. "Good for you, cousin. Good. For. Fucking. You." And he nodded with each of these words while Yami looked like he wanted to cry and Malik was howling with laughter.

"God fucking—this is why I hate you guys."

Both of them cracked up as they clapped him on the shoulders before giving each other high-fives at the red-eyed boy's expense. Yugi hurriedly paid for his own food before getting out of the way of the three cousins, not wanting to feel that strange stinging ache in his side anymore.

* * *

Yami eyed the bottles of pills for a long moment, looking them over and staring at the descriptions on the side of the bright orange plastic, the labels making his head throb for a split second.

Painkillers for his wrist. Painkillers for his ribs. 50 milligrams of Oxycodone for his wrist. 20 for his ribs. Taken four times a day at intervals of six hours between.

Antidepressants because apparently one of his cousins had opened their mouths about his little jump into the ocean. Remeron, or as he  _preferred_ to call it, Mirtapazine at 20 milligrams.

Blood pressure medication in case he had a sudden spike. Lasix in 60 milligrams.

Medication to help stabilize his lungs in case he ever had a panic attack or something along those lines; he'd argued for two full hours with Seto when he took him to get them that he didn't need to have it filled because he didn't have asthma or any breathing problems and yet the brunet had forced him to get the pills anyways. Bambec at 20 milligrams every night before he fell asleep.

Yami was starting to feel like his life could be classified as one massive case of medical drugs.

And yet he hadn't touched any of them.

They were just  _there_ , sitting on his bedside table where he could grab them if he really wanted, where he could pop them all into his mouth if he was stupid enough. But the problem was that he was too smart for his own good so suicide was far from his list of things to do.

Instead they were there as constant reassurances in case he actually needed something.

But he didn't.

Red eyes found themselves glued to the sleeping pills, to a tranquilizer that he knew shouldn't have been prescribed to him in the first place because it was just so tempting to take one and pass out half the time because  _fuck him_  if he wanted to be awake all of the time. And from what he had gotten at the hospital that last handful of days, when they had given it to him through his IV drip, it gave him very vivid dreams that were commonly morphed memories.

He stared blankly at it for a moment and then turned away again. He just had to wait a little longer.

Because he knew it would happen sooner or later.

If he hadn't panicked and struggled when they started to take him up to examine his skull, he wouldn't have fallen over the edge of the bars on his bed and he wouldn't have harmed his ribs to the point that their breaks reopened and his wrist ended up hurt that much more due to the way he tried to catch himself.

If he hadn't reopened the fractures on his ribs, hadn't sprained and fractured his wrist further, he would not have been given medication that gave him such strange ideas and dreams and left him so confused upon waking that he couldn't always make everything align right in his mind.

Yami stared at the bottles again, tilting his head slightly before slowly turning away again, ignoring the idea of taking something just for the hell of it, to see if it left him doped up and gave him an artificial high.

He needed to get rid of them. But he'd have to do it in a way that looked natural or else his cousins were going to pounce on him.

He grabbed all of them, unscrewing the lids and reading the sides, knowing that eventually his cousins were going to check to make sure he was taking them and if they found out he wasn't, there would be hell for him to pay. He took six Oxycodone to make up for the four he would have needed the day before, two Mirtazapine, one Lasix and two Bambec and screwed the caps back on, heading into the bathroom to drop them in the toilet and flush them.

Fuck him if he was going to be even more screwed up in the head than he already was.

* * *

Yami was used to solitude when he went home, so to have Bakura tailing him after school was beyond unnerving; dark coffee brown eyes were watching him so closely he wondered if he was under a microscope. The silver-haired teen was only a couple of steps behind him, hands in his pockets, sharp eyes locked on him and Yami struggled not to admit that he had not been taking the pills that he had been prescribed.

His wrist was throbbing from being shoved into the wall earlier that day, stunned when he found that it was Alister who had done it; the two of them had never interacted before and after that fight with Yugi it had seemed as if he had dropped off the face of the earth. Considering it all, Yami had never once thought he would be forced to interact with the redheaded teen who smirked and wandered off when the red-eyed boy had been unable to shake the pain in his wrist enough to throttle him like he wanted.

It had actually been Yugi who had taken care of him seconds later when he had turned the corner and the two collided; Yami had staggered sideways and nearly fallen over but the smaller teen had caught him around his uninjured wrist, dropping his books to help him keep steady, muttering something or other about him watching where he was going and then following it up with a surprised look and the questioning of if he was okay.

Yami hadn't been able to shake the teen as easily as he had hoped, struggling to force his voice out and his mind to focus with the pain and his own fuzzy thought process when Yugi demanded to know if Alister had done something and if he could still walk, if he was okay enough to do that; he should have just taken the pain medication because his head had hurt too much to even walk in a straight line. He might as well have been a fucking invalid by that point.

And the only reason he hadn't lashed out—which was always his first instinct when he was hurting—had been because it was pretty clear that Yugi wasn't going to hurt him and that the blue-violet-eyed teen was just worried about him. Yami had nearly vomited on him in the last few minutes of him trying to get him to talk, his head throbbing and spinning and leaving him wanting to black out, but it came in split second spikes that let him gain just enough ground to tell him that he needed to get to class.

But he couldn't tell Bakura that he had to get back to class because school was over.

So he was stuck with the other teen following him, watching him, pointedly staring at his wrist as if he were looking for the chance to rat him out to the others.

Yami nearly screamed at him that he should do it just because he didn't have anything to lose.

He unlocked the door and Bakura followed him inside, whistling in approval; it took him a minute to realize that none of them had exactly been invited inside and allowed to move around his house before this moment. He'd always kept them away with excuses because he couldn't fathom his father being thrilled with the idea that he and his mother would not be the first to enter "their" own home.

Vaguely he made note to check for cameras again because he was relatively sure if he looked long enough, he would find them somewhere. Because he was pretty sure his father had not just left him crumpled on the floor without taking advantage of the situation further.

He had to wonder, however, how long he had been unconscious because if Yugi had gotten there without running into him, that had to say something about the length of time he spent passed out like he was.

"You're not going to touch that medication,  _are_  you?"

Yami turned his head, staring at him blankly for a moment, pupils dilated slightly before they settled into their usual diameter, watching him before glancing at the pills on the table, where he had left them on accident in his hurry to get to school on time after getting up late due to the pain in his head.

"What are you talking about? I took them this mor—"

"Do you  _really_ think I'm that stupid, Yami?" Bakura quipped, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he dropped his backpack on the couch and leaped over the back to take a seat, lazily grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. "I know you. You're a sneaky little fuck but you weren't paying attention to who else was around when you ran into Yugi earlier. If you had been you would have put on a better show."

Yami pulled at his brace for a second, looking it over; they had said they might need to put a cast on it but he had threatened to have Seto sue if they did so and they had backed off. A cast would have been hell. He couldn't handle a cast. No, he needed his hand. He needed it so he could fight back later.

"You looked like a one-legged elephant who could barely keep its balance while hopping along and breaking  _that_ leg while trying to scurry away from a rat," Bakura drawled, the bite in his words making Yami flinch slightly as he reached up to scratch at the back of his head and recoiled at the sensation of pain, the sudden motion bringing on more that left his eyes nearly vibrating in their sockets.

"Ra."

"Is not here right now." The silver-haired teen twisted around in his seat to look him over and for a moment Yami thought he was going to speak before his sloppy, tired mind finally started to catch up with the statement; he closed his eyes tightly with the realization that Bakura had followed him home to make sure that he got there okay after his little disoriented blunder in school. "Besides  _that_ , you know I won't tell Seto or Malik about your little episode. I won't even fucking tell them that you aren't taking your medication."

Red eyes snapped open, wide with shock at the statement before narrowing into slits. "At what price? You wouldn't keep such a big secret without something in return."

"Big secret?" Bakura scoffed, flicking his wrist lazily, mockingly. "You make it sound like you're the most important bastard in the world."

Yami groaned in annoyance. "Are you shitting me right now? What is it that you want?"

"'What is it that you want?'" he sneered in that playfully mocking voice Yami was so used to, rolling his eyes and looking at the TV for a moment, a sly smirk crossing his face as his gaze darted back towards him, peering at him through his lashes. "You  _know_ what I want."

"If you're talking about that thing where I promised to make you an Egyptian meal, I was lying. I really fucking suck at cooking." He paused and then added, "I could make the dead roll in their graves with the shit I would end up making. That's how bad it would be. You really  _don't_ want me to cook. It might kill your little sister and she's not even born yet! Just by your mom being exposed to the stench that would be stuck to your clothing."

Bakura bit back some laughter. "Oh for fuck's sake, you're a mess, aren't you?" he muttered, rolling his eyes to keep from laughing out loud; his poor cousin. "Oh, no, little cousin, that's not at  _all_ what I mean."

For a moment neither of them spoke and then finally Yami spat, "I'm not talking about that. I'm not going to fucking talk about Yugi with you."

He gave him a confused look, taking a second to remember his offer before laughing out loud, throwing his head back. "Fuck no, I'm not pushing for that one," he cackled, looking at him and smirking widely. "I have to admit I'm really  _not_  looking forward to that talk."

"If I take you up on that offer," Yami bit out.

_When_ , Bakura corrected silently, shaking his head. "Whatever. What I  _meant_  was the fact that I have the same homework that you had to make up."

"You followed me here. For homework."

"No need to deadpan. Just give me the fucking sheet and I won't tell Malik and Seto about you not taking your pills," he said, holding his hand out expectantly; the red-eyed teen stared at him for a long minute and then thought hard about where those assignments had gone before shaking his head slowly.

" _No_?" he muttered, surprised; Yami usually gave up without a fuss when he had something to gain from it.

"I don't have it. It's getting graded." The red-eyed teen paused, frowning before closing his eyes momentarily. "But I'll do the worksheet if you—"

"Fuck no, I'm not letting you do  _shit_!" he barked. "You look half-dead. I'm not getting your death germs on me. I'm not ready to die yet, damn it."

Yami stared at him as if he had grown an extra head before blinking once, long and slow. "I don't know whether to ask to be there when you rat me out or—"

"Ugh, as if. I'd have to deal with the shit about how I  _didn't_ make you take them after I found out." Brown eyes rolled in annoyance. "I'd rather fucking die than deal with  _that_ shit."

"So…you  _aren't_ going to tell them?"

"If you keep moving around like you are, then I won't  _have_ to," he snickered, pausing and looking him over for a moment; he looked ready to fall over but was still somehow on his feet. Bakura watched him for a second and then gestured him over to the couch. "Help me with this shit. But  _no_ touching. Fuck, don't even  _breathe_ close to me."

Yami snickered at his cousin's statement, amused out of his mind as he made his way over and plopped down on the couch; for a moment both of them stared at one another before finally the brown eyes flickered to his bag, digging through it to drop a textbook with a single leaf of paper sticking out of its pages on the table with a loud thudding noise that made his ears ring.

"You know that the medication will work, right?"

"I nearly took my head off when I went over the railing on that stupid bed. I don't need to do something stupid in this house."

"You're an idiot when you're drugged up."

"I'm stupider sober."

Bakura snickered and opened his book. "No arguments there."

"Didn't expect one." He paused. "Who told the doctor about that cliff-diving incident?"

The silver-haired teen shot him a momentarily confused look before blinking once. "I didn't know anyone had told them."

"They gave me antidepressants…"

"Well I sure as fuck didn't tell them. And I don't remember Seto or Malik mentioning it."

If it wasn't for the tone in his voice, Yami would have assumed he was messing with him.

"Anyways, help me with this shit and then go lay down or something. Just looking at you makes  _me_  feel fucking pathetic."

Yami snickered in amusement.

* * *

Bakura had to drag him upstairs and into his room after he passed out suddenly two hours later, the pain finally getting to him to the point that he couldn't stay awake any longer. The silver-haired teen had cursed a million different ways in over twenty languages when the red-eyed teen had grabbed at his temple, mumbling that he was feeling sick before suddenly seeming to fold and fall straight into his side. He'd spent twenty minutes trying to figure something out to wake him up, only managing twice to make him respond which had ended up with him grabbing his wrist and sinking his nails into his skin for a split second.

Yami was oddly too heavy for him to carry and he really shouldn't have been because he had only weighed in at one-hundred-and-thirty before. But now that Bakura truly thought about it, he had a feeling that maybe it was the panic and shock of the situation that had made him so weak when it was actually famous for him to be able to grab Yami by the wrist and jerk him off his feet and even throw him a few feet through the air if he got enough momentum and caught the other teen by surprise, moving fast enough that Yami could not gain enough footing to fight him.

The carpet that Seto had paid to have cleaned of blood had made his skin crawl because—and he knew it was just him in this state of mind because it hadn't been that way before—it was suddenly dark red with his cousin's DNA.

It had taken him several tries to finally make himself move towards the steps, grabbing Yami under the arms and dragging him up backwards, forced to stare at the spot where all of the blood had been spilled. If he was dramatic he could say he almost vomited and his eyes rolled up in the back of his head, but he wasn't one for dramas so he knew it hadn't happened.

He'd gotten a small bit squeamish, felt sick to his stomach several times, but past that he was perfectly okay.

Yami was limp, like dead weight, but he was breathing; Bakura knew that much from constantly having to shift his grip on him and feeling his breath against his face when he would grab him again. Occasionally he would see his fingers twitch but most of the time he thought he was seeing things.

He barely managed to lift him and drop him into the bed, leaning over his face to press his ear near his nose and mouth, hearing his soft breaths but not doing anything to disrupt or encourage them. He leaned and braced his hands against the bed, narrowing his eyes as he came to a decision.

It took another ten minutes to wake the other teen enough to have red eyes open into slivers of color to stare at him before seeming to roll back for a split second; a few small soft smacks to his cheek had tired red eyes peering at him through long lashes.

"I need you to drink this."

Yami didn't comprehend his words until he held the soda up and nodded towards him; vaguely the concept of having such a small quantity of liquid in the bottle struck him as odd but his unbalanced mind sent him in circles before his eyes narrowed slowly.

"Yami, listen to me, okay? I need you to drink this."

The brown-eyed teen watched as Yami regarded it and somehow forced his dead weight limbs to grab at the bottle of Sprite, staring blankly before slowly taking a sip and then another until he was practically gulping it down, obviously growing used to the sensation of using his muscles before groaning and pushing the bottle towards him, falling back as Bakura caught it in his grip and watched him.

* * *

Things took a different turn that day at lunch, only two days after he had overheard the conversation about masturbating between the three cousins, two weeks after he had run into Yami who had been practically delusional in all of his pain. Yugi didn't even make it to the line. Well, actually, it wasn't even exactly time for lunch in all sense. It was more…the time right  _before_ lunch would have started, in the few minutes between classes, in which they all had time to get to class with a locker break in the middle.

But it might as well have been lunch because that was where Yugi was headed when it all started up.

"Can I ask you something, Yugi?" Joey sneered, smirking widely while Yugi stood completely still, determined not to show any emotion. "Who's the bitch in the relationship?"

His teeth ground together.

"I mean, one of you has to be the one who gets on his knees. I would like to think it was you, because that would just be  _hilarious_ , but I'm thinking  _he_ might be the bitch. Is your boy a cocksucker, Yugi? I think he is. I bet he flounces around in pink shirts drinking martinis, right?" He smirked wider. "You've  _always_ had control issues. It started with Tea, of course, and I think you like to dominate him. You're  _top_ in the relationship because you weren't gay before you started hanging out with him, so you must have been looking for a bitch. Was losing Tea to him really that bad that you had to go and console yourself with your own competition? That's pathetic, Yugi.  _Really_ pathetic. There are plenty more fish in the sea…did you never hear that expression? You could have kept up the fishing a  _little_ longer, dangled your  _little_ worm in the water, so to speak and eventually you might have gotten a bite from a girl. Aren't there enough women in Domino to go around?"

Yugi was breathing slightly harder and he was glad that the uniform shirt was baggy or Joey would have seen his stomach practically flattening and expanding in quick movements. A lot of the taunts were actually hitting a lot harder than he expected but the rational part of his brain told him that the blond was just trying to get at him and he didn't want to give the fucker that satisfaction.

"You could always go somewhere else. There are more girls around. You're short as fuck, but some girls are into that. Or do  _you_ like to take it up the ass?" he asked, looking shocked for a moment. "Maybe  _that's_ why you stopped fighting for Tea and took Yami with you. You've always  _been_ gay, haven't you, Yugi? There was that  _something_ missing when you kissed a girl so you thought one day you would just try it out with one of your buddies right—doesn't make you gay, huh? Just a little kiss, experimenting, everyone tries it out at one point or another, right?"

His breathing kicked up a notch, still silent but making his spine and torso tighten with every inhale.

"Is that what the collar's always been for? Because  _you're_ the bitch?"

Yugi lunged and tackled him hard, using all the force of his shoulder to knock him off his feet and then pinning him as Yami had done to him—wrists above his head, legs locking his in place, weight focused strategically in his legs and left hand, right hand around his throat squeezing tightly.

When Joey tried to move, he was effectively restrained and Yugi was oddly satisfied with the fact that Yami had done this to him in the first place, because he had taught him a neat trick like this and though he had not liked it at the time with Yami's lips pulled back to show off his sharp canines, it had definitely come in handy now.

He released his throat when he started gasping and struggling harder and then started slamming his fist into his face repeatedly, more rage building with every hit; at some point he busted his nose and lip and blood was gushing from the impact, but he did not care to stop. Joey had tortured him for years about being short, about being weak, about how he needed to be a man and grow a pair, about how he was too spineless for Tea, and now Yugi felt like pulling Yami into this was the  _last_ straw.

It was strange because he had never thought that Yami would be his breaking point, but that was exactly what he had become. A breaking point.

He punched harder, exhilaration rushing through his system at the pain he was inflicting on the blond, and was so caught up in the sensation that he missed it when someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him off roughly. He kicked and struggled against the grip but they secured his arms behind his back and held him like that.

He jerked to one side suddenly and threw them off balance, slamming a foot into theirs and then jerking into a spin that sent them flying off him and into the wall; he turned back to see who it was and stared for a moment.

He should have guessed it would be Tristan. Where the blond went, the brunet followed.

"Dude, Yugi, calm down," the brunet said calmly, not at all alarmed, holding his hands up. "Teachers are going to come pretty soon. You don't want to get another fight added to your record, right?"

"Fuck the record" sprang to mind immediately but it died when he suddenly caught sight of someone in the front of the crowd that had gathered while he was punching him. His eyes stretched wide and his heart skipped a beat; Yami. The red-eyed teen was in front of him, standing behind Joey's head, peering down at him.

Joey continued wiping blood from his face and glared at Yugi harshly but the blue-violet-eyed boy was mesmerized by the sight of his taller look-alike, standing only five feet away, still looking at Joey. He wanted him to look up at him, but suddenly the teen turned on his heel and shoved his way through the crowd who was staring at Yugi and Joey and laughing at the blond.

He ignored this all.

There was a strange pain in his chest as he watched the other boy disappear. He wanted to follow but his feet wouldn't obey and his lungs were starting to cave in, his throat closing up slightly as the pain intensified.

* * *

"I should say that I want to stay mad, but I don't," Yami acknowledged, taking a seat next to him and grabbing the soda from his tray, shaking it violently while Bakura watched in surprise; the red-eyed teen didn't look at him as he opened the cap and put his thumb over the end, a Mento slipping inside. Bakura yowled and jumped a mile, screeching loudly as Sprite sprayed across his shirt and left him soaked.

His cousin smirked at him widely and tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "Payback."

"Pay—? Fuck that!" he snarled. "I drug you and you spray me with Sprite?"

"Fuck yes," he replied simply, moving his tray over to replace Bakura's soda-soaked one. "I told you I didn't want to touch them and you forced them on me."

"You fainted!"

"No. I don't  _faint_ ," Yami argued, deadpanning. "I fall asleep without warning."

Bakura couldn't help it; the fight to stay composed was lost too quickly, snickering as he shook his head. "Fucking higher ups."

"Yep."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment until finally they both looked away and Bakura snatched a chair out from under a cheerleader who was about to take a seat, pushing his soaked one away and plopping down; laughter erupted from behind them but neither bothered to acknowledge it.

"You should have been taking them anyways."

"I don't want to sleep."

Bakura's head snapped towards him in surprise, staring at him at the disconcerting sensation of hearing his cousin's voice so quiet and weak; coffee brown eyes continued studying for a minute before looking towards the table, tearing at the tip of his tongue with his teeth. "What normally happens when you fall asleep?" he finally asked.

Yami let out a small bitter laugh. "My parents come back."

* * *

Yami was half asleep on the couch when he heard the knocking sound and jumped up, eyes wide and startled, instincts everywhere for a moment before he realized someone was at the door. He stumbled, his muscles stiff from the fetal position they had been stuck in for over three hours, and then stretched himself out before getting the door.

His eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open for the first time in his life, but he couldn't even wrap his head around the image before him as he was tackled in a rather tight hug and the stench of alcohol wafted up into his nose. He didn't hug back and didn't make a move to do so either, instead opting for closing the door and then standing on his tiptoes, left hand braced against the wood and right reaching up to grasp the chain, his movements weighed down by the extra hundred and thirty pounds around his torso that had started to move slightly against him in confusion.

His penis hardened slightly at the small bit of friction and he finally managed to slip the head of the chain into the lock, pulling it down into place. He pulled back slightly and fell back hard when the person on him shifted position; he instinctively went to shield him from any pain, tightly wrapping himself around the boy against him and then staring up at the ceiling as pain exploded in the back of his mind.

Holy fuck his head hurt.

Well, there went his fucking painkillers.

"Yugi…"

A head of wilder-than-usual hair and half-lidded slightly grumpy but mostly lust-darkened eyes stared up at him as he moved just enough to pull his hands from Yami's back.

"Ugh, did I do this to you?"

It was rhetorical but Yugi shrugged and stretched his entire body out against his, wiggling so that he was straddling him and then leaning over him so that his face came into view and completely eclipsed the ceiling Yami had been so intent upon staring at. A small pink tongue licked at pale lips and Yami's penis hardened slightly again, stiffening further as Yugi pulled his lips back into a wide grin and then started grinding relentlessly against him.

"Yugi," he moaned, trying to squirm out from under him. He really didn't need Yugi to hate him even more for what he was doing, for the path that this little interaction was rapidly taking them. He didn't want to do something stupid. "Focus for a second, will you?"

Yugi didn't stop his grinding and even moved with him like a dog against his leg when he pulled away a couple of inches; gods, he couldn't wrap his head around the situation. Yugi was definitely plastered and horny as fuck considering his behavior, but he was nodding at him too, obviously coherent enough to know what he was asking of him.

"What happened earlier?"

His eyes narrowed in confusion and his lips were once again wet by his tongue and Yami literally watched the thoughts dance behind his eyes before they seemed to slow and focus on one in particular.

"Joey pissed me off."

"How did he do that?"

"He called you a bitch." He licked his lips again. "And then he called me one."

The second explanation made a lot more sense. Why should Yugi care if Joey called Yami a bitch? It was just as Yugi said. It was just supposed to be fun—a few fucks to get their frustrations out. Nothing more, nothing less.

Pain laced through him at the memory of Yugi perched in the chair beside his hospital bed, saying that as if he actually had control of his affections. It wasn't like any emotion he had encountered before. The love just would not fucking turn off like all the others. He had tried so many times and failed so many more. Every time he tried Yugi's beautiful face, eyes bright, smile wide, would flash through his mind and he would fall back into some vicious cycle of mourning his love of him while trying to find a reason to leave him behind. It never worked.

He could not find a single thing and it hurt so much worse for even trying in the first place.

Yugi's lips were suddenly against his and when his mouth did not open a pair of frustrated hips slammed into his and he opened his mouth in a cry of shock that the smaller boy eagerly ate up, tongue immediately in his mouth, poking, prodding, moving roughly and impatiently.

Yami couldn't bring himself to do much more than let him have his way. He didn't encourage him but then he couldn't really stop his penis from hardening drastically the more he ground against him, and he was pretty sure that was why Yugi thought he wanted to keep going.

He was a little amazed by Yugi's persistence, by the way he still made his hips move wildly against his with a delicious friction that sent waves of pleasure through his system, a pulse of heat flooding through them both, especially when he started to pull at Yami's clothes.

He finally stopped him, breaking the kiss by turning his face away and feeling Yugi's mouth against his cheek, breathing hard and then nipping harshly at the rejection, making his eyes open wide in shock at the action. His eyes darted over to see that Yugi's had narrowed into slits of pure impatience and irritation, glaring at him in absolute unhappiness as his lips pulled into a pout of a frown that was terribly adorable and aroused him even further.

"Yugi—"

"I love you."

His words were too tilted. They were too sluggish. They were spoken too fast. They were too uneven.

"Oh gods, Yugi…"

He nodded at him and licked his lips, waiting for Yami to start kissing him again because this whole patience thing was annoying the shit out of him.

"Why?"

_Huh_?

Yugi's drunken mind took a long minute to catch up with that single word, spoken in distress and pure despair. Um…that was  _neither_ the tone nor the word he had expected to hear.

He'd expected "I love you too" and then they could go back to their activities, speed them up a little, and end up fucking on the couch or in his room or something. So why was Yami unhappy? He'd just said what he wanted to hear, right? So what the fuck gave him the right to be so ungrateful? Didn't he—oh no. That was the problem. Yami understood  _too_ much.

"I love you."

It came out underlined in desperation and he hurried to press his lips against Yami's again only to feel the body under him go completely still as if he'd turned to stone; in his confusion, he didn't realize that Yami was baiting him into his next action. He pulled away, staring at him in confusion, and then was very suddenly rolled over and away while Yami scrambled back a few steps and stared at him with a miserable expression.

Yugi licked his lips and frowned in confusion, tilting his head and then wrinkling his nose. He could play dumb. Then again, maybe he just  _was_ dumb. This had to be the worst plan in the history of plans.

"What?" he managed, voice coming out innocently tilted and confused; he was impressed with himself at being able to even control his drunken slurs but Yami's expression only grew tenfold before his head turned away and his voice cracked when he muttered, "You have to go."

" _What_?"

Yami barely managed to contain the flinch at the disbelief and anger that Yugi's voice now held.

"I said you have to go."

"Why?" Yugi demanded angrily, crawling forward slightly and then unhappily, jerkily grabbing his chin and sloppily turning his face back to see that Yami's eyes were distressed, miserable, and yet burning with defiance and a fierceness that made his stomach flip several times.

"Because you're drunk and you don't love me. Now just go."

"What? Yes I do."

"No, Yugi, you don't. Now just…just stop."

He lost all semblance of his original plan, snarling, "Why? You said it when you were drunk too!"

"You don't  _get_ it, Yugi!" he snapped viciously, leaning forward so that their faces were an inch apart and his lips curled back to show off his teeth in a display of pure anger. "I got drunk  _because_ I loved you. I was scared and freaked out and I went out and I got my ass plastered. You did this because you wanted to be able to lie about it. You wanted to be able to say it and  _pretend_ it was true. But it's not and I need you to get out of here."

Yugi got up and sneered, "Fine!" in a voice close to a shout while Yami stared up at him with a fierce look that showed nothing but raw anger. "I never gave a fuck about you anyways!"

The words may have been said in a drunken rage but it didn't stop them from kicking him so hard he couldn't breathe right; his heart hurt with the stab of the statement and he curled in on himself, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them tightly before looking at the smaller teen.

Yugi stomped his feet a couple of times, unsure of what else to do and then slowly his attention turned back to the door. When the hell had that gotten so far away? He stared at it in confusion for a moment and then made a noise in the back of his throat like "humph" and headed for it, grasping the doorknob and pulling only to find that it would not open; for a moment he stared and then it clicked. He released the knob rather sloppily and pulled the lock back to fall on its side before smirking triumphantly.

Take that piece of shit Yami's door!

Or…Yami's piece of shit door…?

Ugh, he was too drunk for grammar.

He pulled the door open to have it part an inch before stopping; his hand hurt with the force of the ricochet he received from the sturdy chain that snapped the door back in place. His drunken stupor left him confused as to how the hell the door did that. He opened it again and then jumped back when it snapped into place again.

Yami watched him with an intense curiosity and wild confusion. What the hell was wrong with him?

Yugi tried the door again and jumped even farther backwards.

The door was possessed…

That was the only way it could do that. No other doors shut themselves like this.

He approached it slowly, reaching a hand out a couple of times before snatching it back again and then licking his lips once. It didn't look like it would hurt him at least…

He grasped it with both hands, twisted slowly as if to appease it, pulled it back slightly and then froze when the door stopped with only an inch of space open. His eyes flickered up the wall to the chain lock and stared in utter confusion. What the hell was that? Was that how the door kept shutting itself?

He glanced over his shoulder at Yami, mystified by the chain, and Yami stared up at him in pure laughter as he got to his feet; he'd forgotten the game shop didn't have a chain lock. "Yugi, go sit on the couch."

"No, you just kicked me out," Yugi snapped, huffing and trying to work out the solution to the chain lock, head tilting to the side. Yami came to his side, taking his hands and gently pulling them away before closing the door and locking it again.

"What are you doing?" Yugi wailed, eyes widening. "You know this is kidnapping, right?"

"It is not. You came here of your own free will and now you're too fucking drunk to figure out how to use the door. I'm saving a life."

For whatever reason, that comment went right over his head. "Are you a firefighter?"

He blinked a few times, staring at the door and then slowly turned around to look at him with a pair of furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. "Yes." He nodded a couple of times and watched as Yugi's eyes and face lit up beautifully with the information. Yugi probably wouldn't remember anything when he woke up. "Come on, little one, let's go sit on the couch."

Yugi blinked and then shook his head stubbornly. "No, I want to go home."

Yami rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and then grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, making him cry out and hit him wildly with his fists, screaming, "Let go! Let go of me! I don't like you! Leave me alone!"

Yami rolled his eyes, figuring that this was the worst he could dish out, but then jumped a mile with a very high-pitched squeak when Yugi opted for pinching his ass instead of just hitting him anymore. Yugi burst into giggles and hid his face in his hands while Yami dropped him onto the couch with a fond look.

Yugi giggled harder and then reached for his hip but Yami pushed his hand away, taking a seat at the other end of the couch; after a full thirty minutes of doing nothing in particular with the background noise of the TV on, Yugi crawled over to him. At first Yami stared at him warily and got ready to get up in case he tried to do something, but then Yugi dropped his head into his lap and snuggled into his side, falling asleep a moment later.

Yami stared at him for a long time and then gently raked his fingers through his hair, still feeling the sting of his words but not dwelling on them. They bit viciously at the back of his mind and he had to remind himself over eighteen times that Yugi was drunk and probably didn't mean it.  _Probably_. Only  _probably_.

He chanted that in his head, under his breath, even started somehow subconsciously tracing the words with his fingers into Yugi's scalp, the entire night, or well, for part of it. Until he really had to move because his legs were starting to lose circulation and the position made him stiff.

And then he had been forced to gently, awkwardly, move Yugi away to the middle cushion where the boy mumbled softly in his sleep and then woke up for a split second to stretch himself out like a dog, laying on his stomach and pressing his face down into the cool silky couch cover.

Yami had never once thought of the lounge chair as uncomfortable until that night. He couldn't sit against the cushions because the stupid buttons pressed into his back, but they served their purpose to keep him awake. Every time Yugi so much as breathed differently he was on his feet and ready to help him in case he started throwing up.

Every time it was a false alarm, however. He would breathe a little deeper and Yami would be on his feet immediately only to have Yugi's head turn one way or the other so that his cheek was lying against the cushion instead of face down. Yami spent all twelve hours of the night just going over what one was supposed to do if someone began choking on their own vomit.

Yami had never been a stupid kid and his mind was rather endless when it came to knowledge and ideas so he knew what to do although the possibility of having to do so scared him like all hell. He really hoped Yugi wouldn't start vomiting because he didn't want the smaller teen to have to go through choking on his own puke.

Yami remembered he had seen a teenager do that very thing on video and he'd nearly pissed himself at the age of eight. His father had drilled it into his mind that he was only to have fine wines and nothing else because that was the society that they ruled over and anything less was disgraceful.

The sunlight was streaming through the windows when Yugi finally stirred, hissing in pain at the throbbing in the back of his head and slowly sitting up with a wince. For a long moment he didn't recognize where he was but then Yami came into view, placing two water bottles, a Gatorade and a cup of coffee in front of him, and it came back to him in slow fragments like someone had dialed back the speed on a movie he was watching. Yami had rejected him.

Then again, he had been smart as hell to figure out that he had gotten plastered in order to even be  _able_  to say that he loved him back. What if he could never say those words? His stomach twisted with the idea. It didn't matter if it was just Yami now who said he loved him or if down the road there were a million different lovers that he had and they all said it. Because if he couldn't even say it to Yami, who haunted his thoughts half the time, who left him practically breathless with lust just by being in the same room, then who the hell  _could_ he say it to?

"You're going to get dehydrated in about three minutes when you toss up your cookies. First you need to drink the water, then alternate it with Gatorade, water again, and then you can have your caffeine."

Yugi stared at him and then spat, "Why the fuck should you care?" in an angry, hoarse voice that made his cotton dry mouth hurt and his throat constrict.

Yami gave him a look that clearly said  _Are you fucking_ kidding _me right now?_ and left him feeling stupid; of course he was going to care if he was… Yugi swallowed hard at the thought and, just as Yami predicted, he felt his stomach heave and bile rise up in the back of his mouth. The red-eyed teen moved out the way just in time for him to avoid getting run into as Yugi fled into the bathroom and started throwing up loudly.

He took a spot on the loveseat, shaking his head and leaning forward with his elbows against his knees; if he hadn't thought that he would end up hurting Yugi's head, he would turn the TV back on, but as he had found out the day after his little fun at Yugi's house the first time, moving pictures, flashing lights, and loud noises were  _not_ good company for a hangover. Instead he listened to the sound of Yugi throwing up and if he had thought it would have been of comfort, he would have gone and rubbed his back while he vomited, but he had a feeling that Yugi was not happy with the fact that he had pushed him away.

He ran his hands through his hair, let his bangs get caught wrapped around his pinky finger, struggling for a moment to pull it out; after a whole night of stressing out and jumping up at every little sound Yugi made, his hair was practically a hotel service that rats and birds would happily nest in it. The tangles were endless due to his jerky hand movements because it seemed that every time he went to run his hands through his hair, Yugi had shifted and he'd been rendered scared shitless to the point that he actually at some point pulled a massive clump of his own hair out when he got back from a small bathroom break to find Yugi was making some strange noise that he had mistaken for choking. Yami still wasn't sure what that noise was. Maybe it was just snoring.

When you were drunk, you slept differently than when you were sober and because of this, Yugi could have just been snoring. It would definitely explain it.

Yami didn't plan to tell Yugi what had happened. He had no plans whatsoever to tell him that he had spent all night awake and jumpy, although, now that he thought about it, it was probably written all over his face. He had seen it in the mirror at one point and had nearly cried out.

Bags, rats' nest, his eyes swollen and puffy and red from rubbing them all night, his clothes wrinkled brutally from his constant moving around, the way his eyelids drooped, and the fact that right beneath his right eye, he had rubbed the skin to the point that it had actually flaked off and instead of the nice golden-bronze shade, it was red and pink and looked like he had torn open a blister and it had yet to scab over.

Yami had not gone to the restroom in eight hours because of his watching Yugi but he wasn't complaining either. He'd often had to sit through thirteen hour lessons with his mother teaching him all the things she thought he would need to succeed. From six to eight he had had trouble with it, but after nine years old he had learned to control his own body functions so well that he could go a full two days without using the restroom. Not that he ever planned to have to do that.

But he had been curious at one point when he was twelve and after the two day mark he was just glad he could still use the restroom at all with the way he felt so strange and bloated. He never planned to test that little…rather disgusting talent of his again.

But fuck if his uncanny ability to hold in excursions hadn't taken a load of stress off of him during his childhood. Every time he had to take a bathroom break during his mother's teaching hours, he'd gotten a five-page essay to do on the history of Egypt and the pharaohs—the ancient lineage of monarchs that they hailed from. He definitely recognized the pharaoh he was named after. They looked alike, except that Atem had had strange purple flecks in his eyes and Yami had purely red eyes.

Yugi returned half an hour later, stumbling a little and definitely not happy as he plopped down on the couch next to him, frowning and looking at the drinks on the table. The coffee smelled so fucking good, but Yami had more experience with hangovers than he did, so if he said he needed to get hydrated again first…

He took one of the water bottles and started sipping, the cool liquid soothing his burning throat and acidic mouth. He was disappointed to find that Yami's keen eyes were not open, instead closed and pressed against the heels of his hands, his entire posture slumped over and tired.

"You okay?" he managed to rasp.

Yami didn't respond for a full minute and when he did, all Yugi received was a measly nod that both pissed him off and worried him to no end.

"You sure?"

He didn't have to wait nearly as long this time. Yami nodded almost immediately, pulling his hands away slightly and then laying his arms down against his knees, eyes opening slightly and regarding him with a sidelong glance.

Yugi felt sick for a moment, taking in all the things wrong with this picture. Yami looked defeated, tired, unable to gain any bearing. His eyes were dark and shadowed, marred by black bags and even his eyelashes seemed to droop—although that was probably just the small bit of dizziness Yugi had acquired from that painful run into the bathroom and back. His lips were set into a hard line, not one of disapproval, but sorrow and pain. His hair was knotted and it was rather evident that he had torn a patch out at some point by the way some of them stuck out and looked jagged and almost static-like in their design. His bangs were unruly and no longer fell together in long strands; instead they looked like he had run his fingers through them to the point that they could no longer stick together. And when Yami finally turned his head a little to gesture to his water bottle with a slight nod, Yugi could see that his eyes were swollen, puffy, reddened, but obviously not from crying.

No, Yami had not cried, he had rubbed at his eyes until they were sore to the touch. Yugi recognized that from three days straight of being in the hospital when his grandfather first had a heart attack and his parents weren't around. He had not left the hospital room once in that three day period. He'd gotten cramped, tired, cranky, from sleeping on one of those stupid chairs, but he hadn't complained, had watched cable until he was practically bleeding out script lines, and then he had rejoiced when his grandfather pulled through, as he always did.

Which meant that Yami had stayed up all night. Watching him. Making sure nothing…happened to him.

His stomach twisted. Holy crap.

Yugi almost wanted to throw up with the force of the realization. Fuck, Yami had stayed up all night to take care of him. The guilt ate away at his stomach and left him winded for a moment. He didn't even know what he would have done if Yami had thrown up in his sleep.

He didn't know what to say for a long time before clearing his throat and muttering, "Um…thanks."

The taller boy didn't respond, not that Yugi had really expected him to.

"You, uh…at school." God, his mouth tasted disgusting.

Yami merely reached forward and grabbed the blue Gatorade, opening it and sliding it forward. "Alternate between water and Gatorade. Finish those off and then you can have your caffeine," he muttered, a not-so-precise repetition of his previous words upon Yugi's awakening.

"You didn't tell them that it was photo-shopped. Why didn't you back me up on that?"

The taller teen frowned as he watched Yugi take a sip of the blue liquid followed by water and back again, his red eyes tracking him as he tilted his head. "I have no plans to do so," he admitted.

Yugi put the cap back on his Gatorade and Yami took in the way that his knuckles grew white with their grip on the orange plastic; for a moment they stared at each other and then Yugi shot forward so fast it was amazing his headache didn't kill him. Yami was thrown sideways off the couch, hit the ground hard, and felt Yugi's hands around his neck for a split second before sobbing noises echoed through the silence, thick and swollen and sounding like he was blubbering.

His hands pulled away from his neck and the sobbing grew louder as his shoulders shook but Yami did nothing but stare up at him in utter confusion; why the fuck was he crying? What the hell was going on?

Yugi shifted and moved away from him, backed up into couch, pulling his legs up to wrap his arms around them and sob into his knees. Yami forced himself upright enough to look at him with wide eyes, confused and feeling a small pang of pain in the back of his mind that left him even worse off than he was before.

"Hey, did I ever…tell you why I came here?" Yami finally asked when Yugi's sobbing became too much to see, too much to hear; the smaller boy shook his head without looking up. "When I first turned three, rumors started appearing out of nowhere in Egypt. Things about my mom, about me, about my dad. People claimed that I was illegitimate, a bastard child."

Yugi shifted slightly but didn't look up completely, instead settling for looking at him over the crook of his folded right elbow.

"The rumor was that my parents…weren't mine. That I wasn't really Ambassador Aknamkanon's son."

"So  _that's_ how you pronounce it," Yugi muttered, just loud enough for Yami to hear it even through the barrier of his arms and knees, his eyes wide as he regarded Yami curiously.

Yami blinked once and then laughed. "I know, right? Too many letters."

"That was what I thought!"

Yami chuckled and shook his head, leaning back against the coffee table and thinking for a moment. "My mom…is not very well known for being the most faithful. Before my father, she…had many lovers. It was like…she craved the attention." He gave Yugi a pointed look and for a moment Yugi didn't understand and then it dawned on him; that was how Yami knew that he sought out attention the way he did, because his mother did the same. "So it was really surprising that she settled down with my father. And especially so when they announced that they were going to have a child. She had never really…gotten pregnant before—people thought she was barren for a long time—so I came as a shock to everyone, especially the doctors. I am the only child she could ever have."

Yugi opened and closed his mouth and then gave him a small sympathetic look that Yami scowled at.

"And I…look nothing like them. People came up with rumors that I was not really their son so we had paternity tests when I was four until I turned ten. That was how bad the rumors were. Proof of my parents was posted everywhere in Egypt. Things were just…really fucked up." He shrugged a little, crossing his legs and thinking for a long minute. "And what was worse is that people didn't really believe the paternity tests. So, when I turned twelve and hit puberty, a bunch of shit happened. First my parents tried to get me hitched with females everywhere…as long as they were part of the same social hierarchy as we were."

Yugi blinked.

"And rebellion—for lack of a better word—broke out. People started thinking I was biogenetically engineered to make us seem more powerful in Egypt"—at Yugi's blank look, he sighed softly—"As in they thought that my parents paid someone to give me certain features so that I would look exactly like the pharaoh Atem so that they could name me that and have more power."

"Can…can people do that?"

"I don't know. I've heard rumors, but I've never really…thought about it or witnessed it. I just know that people seem to think that I am one of them."

"I'm sorry."

Yami gave him a sharp look. "Anyways, my parents sent me here to shield me from the rumors of my mother's infidelity towards my father. I always wanted to come here because it just seemed like a really nice place to go. Father and I argued for hours on end about this"—he neglected to mention that most of that was him begging forgiveness while his father screamed and looked ready to tear him to pieces the entire time—"but he finally relented when my mother told him that it could only further my education."

For a long minute neither of them spoke and Yami collected his thoughts before tipping his head towards the ceiling, eyes closed.

"The rumor morphed into the fact that I was the illegitimate bastard child of my mother, that my father is merely covering up something. I wasted six years doing fucking paternity tests with my parents for nothing," he growled, opening his eyes in a roll before twisting his body to fall back against the carpet in the space between the couch and the table. "The political scandal became too much of a focus in my life. Someone actually tried to kidnap me at one point in order to see what would happen if they took blood. Someone else claimed that they were my father. Rumors shot up everywhere. And then I came here and it was like I dropped off the face of the planet in Egypt."

Yugi opened his mouth but was beaten to the punch.

"People are still obsessed with it though. They honestly don't believe my father is a descendant of the monarchs. But he has to be, right? I mean, if he wasn't…I wouldn't look like I do," he muttered in wonder before shaking his head. "Either way, I'm in Japan now because of this. Well, actually, I'm stuck here  _now_ because my cousin got me emancipated, but that's beside the point."

"I'm sorry, Yami."

Yami didn't respond.

For a moment Yugi didn't say anything.

"I'm really sorry—"

"Shut the fuck up already. I don't need your fucking pity, Yugi," he snapped viciously. "Besides, you need to fucking worry about yourself rather than me because shit at school is just going to get worse than it already has been."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	14. The Concert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Homosexual Semi-Discrimination Warning: Some discrimination towards homosexuals is mentioned in fifth part.  
> Season 0 Yami Warning: Season 0 Yami makes an appearance in the final part of this chapter.

Chapter XIV: The Concert

Yugi got a microphone shoved into his face before he could even blink; a million voices were screaming for his attention, some in Japanese and some in Arabic, all of them loud and screeching and making his eardrums weak. He let out a strained noise as more of them were thrust in his face and he went wide-eyed when one of them snarled, "That's not him! Atem has red eyes."

Red eyes…Atem… _Yami_ …what the fuck was going on?

"Where is he?" another whispered.

The Egyptians all started to pull away while the Japanese reporters remained for a moment longer and then pulled away from him as well; he stood around listening to them all chatting softly about how the ambassador's son had been under their noses the entire time or how they couldn't believe that the red-eyed boy was actually fucking another male. He would have saved himself the trouble of his voice by texting him but his phone was off since he was too lazy to pay the bill the day before and the uproar started again only twenty minutes later when Yugi yelled, "Yami, run!" as loud as he could.

Bakura, Malik, and Yami all froze and then the reporters started towards the red-eyed teen, acting like magpies; the teen actually started to take his advice and run but new vans of reporters were pulling up and one of them came to a stop right behind him.

His cousins left him to fend for himself, pushing their way through the crowd and into the schoolyard with the occasional glance back that clearly said they were sorry to do it but there was no way they were going to be recorded like that; Yami struggled in a sea of limbs and microphones all shoved at him, eyes wide and desperate, scared out of his mind.

"Atem."

"Atem."

"Atem."

"Atem."

Yami backed up into a newsperson and nearly fell over but just barely managed to keep his own footing; for a moment he looked like he was going to flee and then he straightened his shoulders and stood regally, raising his head slightly.

"Is it true? Are the rumors true?"

Red eyes like crystallized blood froze and narrowed into slits. "You have mistaken rumor for reality," he stated coldly in perfect Arabic, glaring fiercely. "Now move out of my way."

Yugi had to admire him because it was obvious that there was a small gleam of fear in the corner of his eyes that made him sympathize with the red-eyed male in front of him. The amount of respect he held for the other teen in that single moment made it impossible for him to turn away, to not feel slightly overwhelmed with the onslaught of the emotion.

"If it's not true then why are you here?"

Yami gestured towards them. "This is reason enough. I did not wish for my privacy to be invaded as you are doing now."

"What about the boy from the photo?" Some of them actually pulled the photo up on their tablets and showed them to him and another actually grabbed Yugi by the arm and pulled him forward; he struggled, tried to get out of her grip, but the fingers tightened and he felt like his limb would fall off with the iron clad grip holding his arm so tightly.

"What of him?"

Yugi was thrust roughly towards him by a very vicious looking Egyptian woman who put the microphone in his face, the small teen stumbling slightly but somehow managing to keep his grace just long enough to gather his footing again.

"Is this him?"

Yami glanced at him sideways and then curled his lip back, eyes flashing like ice for a moment. "The photo is false. There was nothing to it."

"Are you insinuating that you know nothing of this student?"

Yugi frowned and glared at the Japanese woman speaking; why couldn't she be on his side? He was her own damn race. Did that mean nothing to these people?

"I know him, of course. He goes to my school. I was partnered with him for a project," Yami stated in Japanese, hissing softly when one of the microphones got too close for comfort.

"Is that not him and you in that photo?"

"I did not say that," he snapped. "I merely said the photo was fabricated. It is as simple as that. I do not fraternize with males."

"So you are insinuating that you never had relations of sexual nature with this boy?"

"All interactions with him have been completely platonic, I assure you."

"Do you have a girlfriend then? Why have we not heard about you having a—?"

"I—"

Mai slipped through crowd and got to his other side, smiling as she snuggled into his flank; Yami gave her a shocked look before smirking and wrapping his arm around her waist. Fury boiled up in the pit of Yugi's stomach but he fought it back in order to remain calm to the cameras that were in their faces.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he whispered, guising it as kissing her cheek.

"Saving your ass," Mai replied, returning the motion.

Yami gave her a somewhat stunned look before kissing her cheek for real. "Thank you."

She pecked him on the lips. "You're welcome."

"Who is this?"

"This is my girlfriend, Mai Valentine."

She waved at them and snuggled further into his side, which was a little awkward considering the size difference between them; Yugi saw a bright flash of red and even tasted it for a second before realizing he had torn his cheek open in his frustration.

 _Dear Ra, it would be very nice if you did not fuck me over this time. Please and thank you, with_ much  _love, Yami Atem Sennen_.

* * *

"What the fuck was that?" Joey spat at her as soon as the news reporters finally left them alone and Yami gave her a quick peck on the cheek before starting off; the blond had all three of them cornered in front of the doors. "You're not his girlfriend, Mai."

"Oh, so fucking what, Joey?" she snapped. "I was helping my friend out of a tight situation."

"He's a fucking fag and you  _kissed_ him."

"Your point, Wheeler?"

"So you could have caught something—"

"And you wonder why I don't like you enough to date," she growled, bristling. "You don't know anything about loyalty, do you, Joey? Because Yugi was your friend before all of this and you turned your back on him like he was never important. You don't just do that. And whatever the fuck you have against Yami, you should back off because that 'fucking fag' could kick your goddamned ass if you're not careful."

The blond looked shocked out of his mind while Yami gave her a small grateful smile before turning and heading off into the building after she gave him a small simple wink; as soon as he got inside he was cornered by a disgruntled-looking Yugi who asked, "Are you and Mai…?"

"Fucking?" Yami supplied with a small growl. "No, we are not."

"So then…"

"Who I fuck and who I don't fuck is none of your concern, Yugi. You stated that very clearly on more than one occasion," he spat coldly.

And then he started to realize that the disgust he had shown when Yugi was shoved in front of the others with him, that curl of his lip, the sharp glare, the subtle shift of his body away from him, had not been fake; he  _was_ disgusted with him and mad as all hell at him.

"Okay, what the fuck did I do this time?"

He really hoped this wasn't about how he accidentally left the seat down when he threw up and so some of his vomit kind of hit the front of it from where he leaned over it…

"What the fuck do you  _think_ it is about, Yugi?" he snapped.

"I honestly have no fucking—"

"Tell me something, Yugi. Is Ushio one of your fuck buddies too? Did I fuck someone who  _Ushio_  had been inside?" he snarled softly. "Because if I did, I should probably go cut it off now while there is still  _time_ to stop the disease that might be festering inside me."

"What the fuck are you—? No! Of course he isn't—"

"Really? Hmm. Because you didn't really seem to be fighting him."

"I was tired, Yami. I had to deal with shit before you got there and even more shit when you showed up in class."

"So you're blaming that on  _me_?" he demanded incredulously.

"What the fuck does this even have to do with  _anything_?" he snapped. "You're not making any fucking sense, Yami. So, let me ask again, what the fuck did I  _do_ this time?"

"You know what the fuck you did, Yugi. You speak Arabic and yet you stood there just staring like a dumbass the entire time. You speak Japanese and yet you never once opened your mouth. You never said the photo was fake. You didn't back me up. You just made Mai—my friend since  _ninth grade_ , my  _first_ friend, actually—jump in your place to fucking save my ass."

"What the…?" He barked out a laugh. "Oh that's  _rich,_ Yami. Honestly, you thought I was going to stick my neck out for you when you won't do the same for me?"

Yami bared his teeth. "That is not the same, Yugi Motou and you fucking know that," he spat, pushing him hard into the locker. "This is my fucking life we're talking about. This could make or break  _everything_  for me! My father was probably watching that. And you stood there like an idiot the entire time. He doesn't fucking believe me when I say that it was fake because he won't  _listen_ long enough to hear me  _say_ it. And for fuck's sake, this is  _high school_ , Yugi! It means nothing in the long run. As soon as high school is over, if I'm not back in Egypt, I'll hit a whole other fucking continent and this place will never cross my mind again."

Yugi flinched and backed up further into the lockers before sneering, "I didn't know that was what you did to someone you claim to love."

The red eyes narrowed into slits before he whispered, growling softly, "Oh, I do, I do love you, Yugi, and I don't know how or why but I sure as fuck know that I don't want to. And I sure as fuck know that if I get the chance to get out of here, I will take it no matter if I have to leave you behind. Because, honestly, you care nothing for me and I don't have the strength to keep pretending we will ever have a chance."

He flinched again, his back hurting as a locker dial dug into his skin.

"I will leave everything behind because I don't have to take it with me. And you? Yugi, you said it yourself. I'm just a quick lay for you. An easy fuck. Fun time. A stress reliever. That's all I am for you. That's all I will ever  _be_ to you. I don't care for it anymore. If I get the chance, I will be gone and never once will you cross my mind. You will have no place in my life when high school is over, which is exactly how you wanted it, right? We fool around, we don't get attached. Easy. No strings. You got what you wanted."

He blinked wide eyes but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

Yami smirked at him cruelly and stepped back. "You're going to get what you want. Have fun with it. And I think maybe you should start looking for a new fuck buddy in the meantime. I don't really see myself under that title much longer."

 _No, because you want a relationship,_  Yugi thought with a small shake of his head. _And you won't get that with me. So you're going to leave. Just. Like. The. Rest. Of. Them._

But then…Yugi had pushed and pushed some more when Yami got too close. So, in all reality, this was really his fault.

* * *

"Alister."

He wasn't really sure what he was doing there or really even  _why_ he had found himself following the boy into the locker room, but there he was and with all of his frustration, it was not much of a surprise that he was choosing the redhead to take it out on. He  _had_ harmed Yami, after all.

When he turned around, his eyes stretched wide and he jerked backwards several steps but the small teen didn't bother to let him get far, stepping forward immediately to glare at him fiercely, narrowing his gaze into slits and clenching his jaw momentarily.

"Yugi, what the fuck are you—?"

He had honestly almost forgotten that they had not interacted since that day in gym when he had beaten him up for continuously hitting the volleyball into the back of his head like that; the idea made him smirk in amusement. That had been a great day. The gleam of alarm and fear made him smirk wider.

"You know, I should have done this sooner," he muttered, balling his right hand into a fist and then flexing it out again. "I saw what you did before with Yami, when you threw him into the wall like that. Couldn't have done it if he didn't have that brace on, huh? Didn't have the balls to pick on him before then. And you know, it's even better because you  _knew_ we weren't talking. Do I really scare you  _that_ much, you little  _bitch_?"

"I don't know what you're—"

"Shut the fuck up. You know  _exactly_ what I'm talking about, damn it," he spat, rolling his eyes and letting out a deep breath of a huff through his nose; Alister stared at him with wide eyes but slowly ground his teeth together and shook his head incredulously.

"You came here to defend your little boyfriend?" he snorted, laughing. "I can't fucking believe this. You're calling  _me_ the bitch but you're the one over here about to pick a fight with me over  _yours_!"

Yugi decided not to comment with the initial "Don't call him that" because he honestly could not care  _less_ about what the boy in front of him had to say, not about him, and not about Yami either. No, he was just waiting for it, for his frustration to boil over. He was waiting until he could get some of it out. Maybe Alister's trash talk would do it or maybe he would just naturally call it up again, because his mind was still buzzing with that conversation between him and Yami.

About Ushio, about Mai, about the rejection.

Fucking Yami.

Of course Ushio wasn't his fuck buddy. And Yami was a fucking moron to think that was possible. He almost wanted to laugh in his face at the very idea but in all actuality, he supposed if Yami had not seen him when he was being dragged into the bathroom—he really needed to ask him about that at some point—then it would have just looked like he was complying with him because he didn't want to argue and Ushio was propositioning him. It would have seemed simple enough an explanation, that he was acting as Ushio's booty call.

And Mai…He knew there had to be something to that. They were best friends, yes, but could they be more? When he had suggested it at the hospital, he had been trying to push Yami towards her rather than him, towards a source of affection that he could actually  _have_ , one that his father would approve of as well as one that was actually requited. Because it was obvious that Mai had feelings for him. The problem was Yami. If he was actually completely homosexual like Yugi suspected, then of course he would not want to date her…

Yugi found his teeth grinding together at the thought of that night on the couch with him. He'd fucking rejected him when he had said that he loved him. But then again, the words had been false, had been slicked down with liquor and his own desperation to have some kind of connection with another person.

Yami was honestly right to do so but it didn't stop the sting at the thought, the subtle bruise to his ego that seemed to pulse when he was around the other teen. How disgusting.

Gods, how much lower could he  _sink_?

Was there no rock bottom for him?

Or maybe it was when he broke down and threw himself at Yami's feet like a dog to its master, begging him to say he loved him again or pushed Yami until he hated him and both of them were so unstable and broken that they couldn't function anymore. Was it when he tried to break Yami's will? Was it when his own broke? Was it at the point when he somehow, at some point, maybe drunk or sober or high, thought it was a good idea to do something so stupid as to call his parents and ask for their advice?

He'd been dragged into court twice because of their stupid divorces. And he'd been dragged to their wedding when they suddenly decided to remarry. He'd heard the vows, he'd seen his mother, he'd watched his father, and yet the entire time he was there he was thinking,  _How long is it going to last_ this  _time_?

He had ignored them when they spoke to him and he had ignored them when they tried to discuss school. But he had fought tooth and nail when they asked him if he wanted to move to Europe with them, where they manned the European wing of Kaiba Corp. His grandfather had been forced to pull him away when he started yelling at them about how stupid they were and how much of a waste of money all of it was…

Yugi shook that train of thought off, instead focusing on the stupid redhead who was still sneering something or other at him. For a moment he debated actually listening but half of him still wished to dwell in his head, though finally he relented when his mind circulated back to the incident with Yami and Ushio. He knew they had never spoken about it because of the night at his house when he was drunk and maybe it had festered in Yami's mind the entire time they were together or maybe it had just come up because he was pissed off, but now that it was out in the open between them, even if only for that split second, it was driving him insane…

Surely Yami didn't think he was  _that_ low, right?

"This is seriously pathetic, Yugi. Honestly. Who wants to fight for someone who can't fight for themselves?"

The small teen didn't respond, instead focusing in on his face, locking eyes with him, allowing his thoughts to drown and die away in the back of his mind instead.

"So I guess he really  _is_ the bitch. Joey was right then. Does he suck you off well—?"

Yugi punched him so that his head whipped to the side. He stumbled and his knee slammed into his stomach as he lurched. His hand grabbed at his hair, jerking his head forward to throw him to the ground. "Don't even start with Joey," he spat, glaring. "And if you ever touch Yami again, I will break every bone in your body, understand?"

Alister groaned and the smaller teen would have snapped at him that he hadn't hit him that hard but he'd gone full out in those three blows, so he knew that they had to be pretty harsh.

"I asked if you understood!" he snarled, crouching down to look at him with narrowed eyes. When he nudged him with his palm to his shoulder, the redhead cowered away, nodding desperately, and Yugi snorted in amusement as he straightened again. "Good. Now that we have  _that_ straightened out, you should make sure that you stay out of his way for now on, okay? Otherwise I might be forced to shove my foot so far up your ass that it'll take surgery to remove it again."

* * *

It was really strange when he got the urge to text him. It was two in the morning and he couldn't really see him replying, but he was shocked when the answer to  _Want to hang out tomorrow_? came a few minutes later with  _I'm sorry, did you just invite me to do something other than fuck you_?

Oh, so funny. Yugi rolled his eyes.  _Yes._

There was a long minute of silence on Yami's end before finally a new text came in.  _What is it you wanted to do_?

He really hadn't thought that far. In all honesty, he just wanted to see if Yami would go somewhere with him; he glanced around for a long minute and then smirked when he saw the tickets he had won from the school auction a few months ago. And, oh, look at that, they were for tomorrow.

How strange.

He smirked a little. Probably one of those unconscious things he always did. He would remember a date in the back of his mind and around the time that it came up, he would feel like something important was going on or he wanted company or whatever it involved until it came to mind again.

_I won the tickets from the end of the year auction last year._

Every year at the end of the year, Domino High had a fundraising event, an auction with items that they all  _knew_ the students would be interested in. Sometimes there were laptop systems, others entire book sets with autographs, concert tickets, and sometimes special edition movies. And it was held the  _entire_ day of the last day of school, after all of the testing was done and everyone was ready for break. Every student was required to be there aside from the seniors but most of the time they came anyways. If there was a limited quantity of items, then there would be a bid set up and anyone could throw in their numbers.

Yugi had been saving up his money purely for this reason that year, though it was hardly even needed considering that he got a lot of money every month from his parents. Kaiba Corp paid  _well_. No one could claim otherwise.

Curiously Yugi had a split second where he wondered why Yami had never once contributed to the bidding when he knew that he had given Mana and Mahado money that they could spend on the items if they wanted; he remembered how he had been stunned out of his mind when he had seen Yami handing them both some cash before the event began. Back then he had thought that maybe they were all in business together, whether it be drugs or some kind of cheating scandal, he had no idea, but he had not been focused on it for longer than several minutes before Joey and Tristan started talking to him and the bidding started.

And he gave them a  _lot_ because those two items that they wanted had been high priced when the bidding began and when they won, he remembered looking at the red-eyed teen who was sitting several rows away with his focus zeroed in on the principal; when they had locked eyes for that split second, he had been convinced that he was staring at him smugly because that seemed like something he would do considering the way he held himself but now, as he thought back to it, he realized Yami had gone pale when their gazes met and he had honestly looked close to sick in that single moment.

Gods, it was so weird how things had changed so drastically; back then he had not known Yami at all, had not known even how to read him, and now he knew where to look for the flashes of emotion in his eyes and he'd seen some beneath his shell. It almost hurt to think of how much of an idiot he was to assume things of the red-eyed teen before.

For a minute Yami didn't answer.

_I know that. We were all there when you outbid everyone._

Yugi huffed.  _No reason to get pissy._

_I am not pissy. I just don't understand what you want from me involving concert tickets._

_Are you going to make me spell it out for you_?

_Please do, because I'm pretty sure what you're talking about and what I am is not the same._

Yugi rolled his eyes but had to smirk. Smartass.

_I'm asking if you want to go to the concert with me._

He actually waited ten minutes for the next response, just as he was about to ask Yami if he should take his silence as a no.

 _I'm sorry. I had to go dunk my face in a bucket of cold water. Make sure I was_ awake.

Yugi smirked.  _I don't know. Do you dream about me, Yami_?

For a long minute there was no response and then suddenly his phone was ringing and he had to laugh when he answered it and Yami spat, "Fuck off bitch" before he could even say anything.

"Geez, I thought to invite you to a concert and this is what I get for my efforts?"

Yami scoffed. "It's two in the morning. What the fuck are you even doing up?"

"I should be asking you that."

"Watching TV."

"Are you drunk?" Yugi asked when Yami's words slurred slightly.

"What? No!" Yami started moving around for a moment and then cleared his throat slightly. "No, I…I just haven't been sleeping right. I'm about to drop in another hour or two but for right now I'm wide awake so please, details, Yugi."

"About the concert?"

"No, about your lifestyle. Yes, the fucking concert, you idiot."

He laughed, "You know, with an attitude like that, I don't even think I want to take you anymore."

"I don't even know which band it is. Honestly, I don't know if I would go anyways."

His words slurred together but if Yami was drunk, he would not be this sharp and witty. No, he was hilarious when he was drunk because he couldn't figure out what the fuck he was doing unless he actually  _was_ fucking.

"Tokyo Hotel," Yugi stated, looking the tickets over; he'd heard some of their songs but he'd never really bothered to see them before. "I heard they were good."

"You didn't even know them before and you wasted two thousand  _dollars_ on the stupid things?" Yami asked incredulously; Yugi could practically see him shaking his head and rubbing his temples.

"Tea liked them."

Yami went silent for a long time and even through the phone the tension seemed thick as ice and hard as rock.

"Oh."

They both stayed quiet for a few minutes.

"What time is it?"

Yugi looked at the tickets and raised an eyebrow. "Ten at night tomorrow."

Neither of them mentioned that this was more like a date than some simple meeting, especially considering they were once meant for Tea.

"Where?"

"Tokyo."

Both of them shared a snicker at the irony.

"So…do you want to go?"

He hated how hesitant he sounded, the way he actually scuffed his shoe nervously on the floor, something he hadn't done in  _years_ , the fact that he actually lowered his eyes to take in the path of his sneaker.

"…I suppose. But is this just for a hookup? Because if it is, then I think you're overdoing it a little, Yugi."

He let out a small laugh. "No, it's not. I mean, I didn't think it would be before you mentioned it…do you want it to be a hookup?"

Yami hung up and Yugi laughed for ten minutes afterwards.

* * *

The concert was awesome. The crowd was pumped. They were right in the front because they had great tickets.

And when it ended and Yugi decided that he needed some air, using the guise of going to the restroom, he was unsurprised when Yami did not acknowledge his departure, did not watch him go, did not even turn his head in his direction, and why would he? There were people in the crowd who recognized him—not many, but just enough to be able to make a scene if he were to pay attention to Yugi rather than the lovely self-proclaimed girlfriend Mai Valentine who—admittedly, Yugi was rather semi-glad but frustrated as all hell about this—had been coaxed into coming when Yami called her and asked her if she still had her tickets lying around the house and to bring Vivian with her.

But he was surprised when he could hear them talking as he walked around to the back of the concert hall, away from the crowd and the parking lot, and leaned against the building's stone wall.

He shouldn't have been, but he was surprised when the three of them stopped short a few feet away and just stood around, talking quietly about the band—Yami seemed to think they were okay but not the best but Mai was arguing for her favorite band and Vivian was saying that the boy in the front was fuck-hot and she would ride him if she ever got the chance. And Yugi's blood boiled when Yami said he was okay looking but not as hot as Vivian claimed, laughing that yes, he would fuck him if he was given the chance when the brunette pushed at the matter.

And then they fell silent for a long time.

"The tickets were meant to be for me and you."

"I know."

They just  _stood_ there, inches apart, just  _looking_ at each other.

"When did you buy them?"

"Months ago."

And Yami only nodded. "Thanks."

Mai didn't respond aside from carefully glancing at Yugi from the corner of her eye; the small teen hurriedly pulled his phone out and pretended to have gotten a text, messing with the screen halfheartedly and keeping the screen lit up by tapping the numbers for his password but not putting it in.

Yugi didn't miss it when Mai looked at Yami and then tilted her head towards him and those red eyes flickered to the ground and he wouldn't look at her or Vivian anymore; he didn't miss it when Mai gave him a small glare that told him that he better not hurt him, and then hugged the red-eyed male tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mai."

"I thought I told you to stop apologizing for stupid things."

Yami was chuckling as he returned it and Yugi bared his teeth behind his lips as their bodies seemed to mash together with the tightness of the embrace. And then they released and he was half-glaring half-blinking when Vivian gave him a hesitant hug and then both girls waved at him in passing before wandering off into the parking lot where they climbed into Mai's dark purple convertible, honking once before speeding out.

Both of them waved as they left but then they were left in perfect silence and a tension so thick it was like ice and granite, wearing them down and making the chill of the winter night that much colder against their skin.

Yugi let his eyes flicker back over to the taller teen who looked back and then finally the two of them moved towards each other, stopping a couple of steps away from each other, staring.

"Mai is just a friend—"

"I didn't ask."

"I want you to know anyways."

"Why?"

Yami didn't answer but the look in his eyes spelled it out and Yugi immediately felt rather stupid for asking that three letter question; hesitantly, the smaller teen took a step forward but it felt strange and for a moment he couldn't make himself do it, but eventually he managed to make another two to follow up his first.

And Yugi could practically  _feel_ the warmth of his body, those dark red eyes never once leaving his face, burning like fire under the dim lighting of the parking lot, dominating as he lowered his eyes in a motion that seemed out of character for the smaller teen, staring at the ground.

For a moment Yami didn't move but then his feet carried him over to the wall where he leaned back, drawing Yugi's attention towards his still form, eyes widening as he looked at him, took in the way he crossed his arms over his chest and tipped his head towards the right with his eyes closed.

And Yugi had to admit that Yami looked beautiful and intimidating and fuck-hot all at once. With his head like this, his bangs fell to make his sharp jaw more prominent. The clothes he wore accentuated his lean build, and the colors definitely brought out more of his features than the smaller boy really cared to admit. With a black leather jacket over a dark red shirt, his eyes were made darker and more vibrant, and the dark blue jeans he wore made his legs look slimmer and made him appear a little taller, and his red-laced black Converse with the blue symbol on the side made the outfit even more put together. But it was the bracelets that really caught Yugi's attention, because they were just like something he himself would wear. And he had to admit that Yami putting so much effort in for a concert with him, ditching his normal attire of graphic tees and jeans, was kind of hot. And oddly very sweet as no one had made a gesture like that for him before.

When he stopped in front of him—he wasn't even sure when he started walking—Yami's eyes opened into slivers of blood that made his own warm in his veins. They were so dark, with shadows cast from the long lashes that had barely parted in order to give him a glimpse of the color beneath, and it was chilling to stare into them like Yugi was doing, but it warmed his blood further, made his heart beat a little faster.

And when he leaned forward to brush his lips against Yami's—and Yami knew this was what Yugi wanted to do because he wanted it too because his mouth felt like it was burning and Yugi was the oasis meant to put the fire out—it took all his strength to jerk his head away, banging it against the wall hard.

"What do you  _want_ from me, Yugi?" he muttered.

"What do I…?" Yugi trailed off, because he didn't  _know_ what he wanted, not really.

Yami's eyes were cold now, staring, glaring, burning beneath a layer of ice.

"Look, Yami, you don't  _want_ to love me, right?" He started out murmuring but ended up whispering and he didn't understand why, but that seemed more suited for the situation than just speaking like he had been before. "You don't fucking  _want_ to love me. You said it yourself. And you don't  _want me_ because I am pretty sure I would know if you did. So why do you claim that you do? Why do you make everything so complicated when it used to be good?"

"I don't think you know me well enough to say that, Yugi," he muttered, shaking his head. "I did say that I don't want to love you, but I do. And I can't change that and neither can you. And no, I don't want you because if I did, I would end up hurting myself  _that_ much worse than I already have so far. I never claimed I wanted you. But I will say that if you were to ask me if I wanted to  _be with you_ I would say yes. As for making everything so complicated, maybe it's because you've made everything so complicated for me and I'm just giving you a taste of that."

Yugi honestly didn't know what to say. Well, no, he did, he knew what he wanted to say, what he  _should_ say, but he was scared. And it was strange, because he wasn't scared of leading him on, it was because he was scared he would make Yami run.

And maybe that fear seemed stupid, but with Yami, he felt like he could never be very sure. Because the red-eyed boy's confusion was like a projector—it cast a total mind-fuck over anyone who was in close proximity and made them just as fucking confused as he was.

So he was scared.

And confused.

Just as confused as Yami.

And so he couldn't say anything.

"Fucked up, huh?"

Yugi tilted his head slightly and then said the first thing that came to mind. "Huh?" And he felt so brilliant because his mind was just  _that_ good under pressure.

Yami raised an eyebrow and then smirked slightly before shaking his head.

And for the first time, for whatever reason, Yugi's eyes flickered to Yami's wrist, blinking a few times when he realized that the brace was off; the red-eyed teen followed his gaze and then lifted it out of his jacket pocket, showing off the golden-bronze flesh of it.

Yugi watched it as he flipped his hand back and forth in the dim light before finally putting it back in his pocket a minute later.

"Tell me something," he suddenly blurted out, making him frown and stare in response. "Do you like her?"

The red gems narrowed into slits, an expression cold and blazing and holding him in place no matter how he fought to break free of the grip it possessed. "Who?"

"You know who."

Yami merely stared and then kicked off the wall, standing straight and watching him. "I love Mai," he replied quietly. "But I can't rewire my brain no matter how hard I try."

Yugi grimaced slightly and watched him closely for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. Everything would be so much easier if they could.

"Then why are you pretending she's your girlfriend? And why would you tell her about us…about you being…?" He trailed off as he watched Yami stare back at him blankly, not once giving away a single clue, before it started to click in his head. Yami wasn't answering not because he didn't deem the question unworthy of one, but because he was ashamed.

"Are you using her to make me  _jealous_?"

Was it really that fucking obvious?

And how sick of a bastard did you have to be to use a girl who had fallen in love with you to try to make an asshole who  _refused_ to love you jealous?

"Well, if you must know, it is working," Yugi muttered, narrowing his eyes. "I'm so fucking jealous that half the time I want to tear her hair out. Just because she's there with you. And it's rather sickening, because I've never been jealous of anyone before, Yami. Especially not over something as stupid as this."

"So you weren't jealous when Tea used to flirt with me?" Yami questioned, narrowing his eyes, a hard prick of anger in his tone nearly blindsiding the smaller boy. "You never got jealous then?"

"No, I got mad. Because she ignored me. Because she was using me. It wasn't jealousy. Fuck, I used to think I was too. Until I realized I only ever got jealous because of  _you_ —because of you and  _Mai_! No, I got mad because you ignored her like she ignored me and I felt bad for her. And I got mad because you used her and I thought it was to get back at me. And I got mad because I was  _jealous_ of that stupid bitch because you used her." Yugi was spitting and it felt like maybe he was about to foam at the mouth like a rabid canine, but he couldn't stop himself. "And, oh, I was so fucking jealous when you kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear and said she was your girlfriend on television. And I was so fucking  _jealous_ because you ignored me in favor of her and I never thought that you would do that. And I was jealous when you said you would hit another continent and I would never cross your mind but that was just because I wanted your attention. You make me so fucking jealous that I don't even know what the fuck I should do with myself."

Yami stayed quiet for a moment. "I know." And he did. Because when he couldn't stop himself from thinking about it, his mind would circulate around how many other fuck buddies Yugi had and the thought of him with them made his skin crawl and his heart hurt and rage boil through his veins. And he knew because the very thought of someone else with the smaller boy made his skin feel like lava. And he knew because he had never experienced this before because he had never had a  _reason_ to be jealous and yet this boy—the bad boy, the "slut", the "sex slave"—gave him one.

And it was sickening and wrong and it threw his mind out of balance. It made him do stupid things. It made him fight with a fractured wrist. It made him joke around with his cousins to make sure Yugi  _knew_ he would be okay without him. And it made him want to break Ushio's neck whenever he so much as  _looked_ at Yugi—no matter  _how_.

It threw his pride back at him and tripled it in size. And it made his heart beat too fast, his mouth water with excess saliva because he stressed out about it, his hands tear at his hair where he knew a patch was shaved and he was using clips to hold some of his hair together to make it look like he wasn't bald there. Hell, he was starting to get irritated with even that now; in all honesty he was a second away from just coloring in his scalp with some Sharpie so that it wouldn't take up so much of his time in the mornings.

He leaned back against the wall again, tipped his head back to stare, once again so that his jaw line was highlighted and his eyes were shadowed with the blackness of his drooped eyelids.

And Yugi wasn't oblivious to the only thought in his head at that moment being the idea of kissing his neck and tasting his skin, nipping at his jaw and nuzzling his ear before sucking on his collarbone.

"You made us wait and made sure I was watching when you greeted Mai."

"I did."

"To make me jealous."

"Yes."

Yugi snickered softly, a snort of a noise, through his nose, shaking his head as he stared at him. "The moment you said she was coming, I should have just fucking left. But I didn't."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to see how you would greet her without the cameras."

"I didn't mean it. What I said in front of the cameras. You know that. I don't want to be with her, I want  _you_  because it's  _always_  you."

Yugi chewed his cheek.

"I can't fucking do this anymore, Yugi."

His words were like a knife, like he had just stabbed him through the ribs and was cutting upwards slowly so that he could hear his bones breaking and his blood flooding through  _while_ feeling the burn of it.

"What? But you just said you wanted to—"

"I do. I want to be with you but you don't want to be with me. It's driving me crazy.  _You_ are fucking driving me crazy. And I can't do it anymore. I'm tired of it all. I want to sleep without having you in my head. I want to be able to think without you popping up. I want to eat without feeling like you could be there with me. I don't want to want you there constantly anymore. I want to do things on my own, without all of this shit."

Yugi didn't know what to say. No, that was a lie; he  _did_ know what to say. But terror and panic held him in a vice grip. Because he was so scared that if he said something,  _anything_ , Yami would turn away from him. He was scared of even  _thinking_ about what Yami had said—what it could mean for him, for them. He was scared of even  _hoping_ that he could change Yami's mind…that maybe this thing that Yami felt, that Yugi tried to ignore, could actually happen, could actually work.

And then, slowly, he realized that Yami was no longer looking at him, that he hadn't been for a while now, that his eyes were focused on something behind him, that now he stood straight and rigid with  _aggression_. He watched him, studied his dark, barely blinking eyes, his pulsing jaw line, his expressionless face. And he could feel his own muscles preparing to grab him, to pull him back because whatever was behind him…

* * *

Yami was too distracted during the final math test of the semester so he knew for a fact that he was going to fail; he had a vague moment where he wondered why he was bothering. His parents had disowned him. He had told Yugi he loved him and Yugi had practically laughed at him…and with what happened with the concert…why the  _fuck_ did he  _bother_?

He ignored it when a student came in and handed the teacher a note. He bubbled in another letter, leaning dejectedly on his left elbow, staring at the page blankly. He was so fucked…

"Mr. Sennen?"

Yami raised his head, curious and desperate for any kind of distraction from his thoughts, blinking once before stiffening when he caught the concerned eyes of his teacher.

"You are required to go to the principal's office…right away."

He nodded and packed up his things quickly, dropping his barely-touched test on his desk on the way past and wondered if it was a follow up to the paperwork he had signed on his first day back after being released from the hospital and thought guiltily of all the wallowing he had been doing after the concert instead of studying for the make up material they were constantly sending home with him now.

The secretary ushered him in urgently as soon as he opened the door to enter the office and not a second later he froze in place when he saw that Yugi was seated in front of the desk, looking confused and concerned; the smaller teen couldn't remember doing anything recently to get in trouble and he definitely didn't remember hearing about  _Yami_ doing something. Then again…

"Take a seat, Mr. Sennen."

The red-eyed teen clamped his jaw in an effort to keep from letting the awkwardness make his limbs turn to lead and dropped into his seat, leaning against the armrest furthest from Yugi.

"What's going on?" the blue-violet-eyed boy demanded, pretending that Yami's obvious reluctance to sit down hadn't hurt him. When the principal did not answer right away, it hit both of them that this was not about grades as both of them had honestly been hoping.

"This is a rather sensitive subject and I would appreciate it if we could possibly discuss it like adults. You boys…were seen this past weekend being intimate with each other," he said cautiously; Yami's brain started working at three times its normal rate, a million different thoughts trying to break through the recesses of his mind and become center focus. How could anyone have possibly seen them? They had been careful, hadn't they? His stomach twisted with realization.

The guy who had called his father. The one who had been following him. He had thought maybe that was the car but he hadn't seen the plates so he hadn't been sure. That must have been them. They must have seen everything before he even spotted them…

But they hadn't been doing anything intimate. They had merely gone to a concert. Nothing about it was intimate…unless they heard what they were saying…Yami was about to be sick.

"Now you obviously don't have to tell me anything but there have already been rumors running around this school and I thought it best to discuss it with you both now before things got even more out of hand."

Yami could not find it in himself to speak and Yugi was staring at the principal with a horrified expression.

"The school board feels that on this occasion it may be best for one or both of you to consider moving to a different school for your own safety."

Yami's muscles twitched and contracted against his shoulder blades and he knew without a doubt that if he opened his mouth, all hell would break loose; instead he clenched his jaw so tightly that it hurt and snatched his backpack off the ground, throwing the door open so harshly that it cracked against the plaster on the wall behind it and he heard the hinges creak in protest. He got out the front entrance, ignoring it when several of the staff called out for him to stop, and then got to the gates when Yugi caught up to him, stopping in front of him with a flushed expression, eyes wide and breathing heavily.

"At least…let me at least walk you home because I have to go home and call my grandpa, tell him about this before it gets out…"

Yami shrugged and then walked past him with a glare; Yugi immediately followed after him, hurrying to his side and putting his hands in his pockets. They did not speak until they got to the game shop in which Yugi started for the door and froze when Yami muttered, "He might have a point."

He spun around so fast that the key fell from his hand, eyes widening in surprise. "Huh?"

Yami glared at the ground where the key had fallen, almost as if it had offended him but he looked more tired than anything else. "Domino City isn't very big, so it might be safer if I were to move away for a little while until everything has settled down."

Yugi wanted to shout at him but then settled for glaring and speaking in a low voice. "I don't think that is a great idea. In case you've forgotten, we also have this project to do. Lucky for us he's even extending it until the next half of the semester. How are we supposed to get it done if you are gone—even for a few days? We haven't exactly been working on it."

"I can't ask you to move, Yugi. That's your grandfather's fucking shop. You have to tell him what's going on and I have to talk to Seto about getting transferred," he said firmly.

"No, because half of my grade depends on your ass right now," he snarled, desperation for Yami to take the statement back making his voice sharper than he had hoped. "This is just an idea, Yami, and we have to talk about it before we can do anything about it. You  _aren't_ the only one affected by this. Grandpa will be home later today anyways. Why don't I call you and you can come over when he does? He has the right to know what is going on and he could talk with us then about what we are going to do next."

Yami remained silent for a long minute and then nodded almost imperceptibly, voice barely audible and eyes still narrowed into a glare towards that single key on the ground. "Very well."

* * *

Yami got to the game shop four hours later, phone in hand and discussing options with his brunet cousin who had gone off the deep end with snarls; Yugi answered the door just as Seto hung up and Yami mentally cursed him a million different ways in Arabic and Japanese. Yugi led him upstairs into the living room and took a seat on the couch after the red-eyed teen had settled into a comfortable position.

"Yami," Solomon greeted him with a smile. "I'm glad you're here."

Yami dipped his head politely in greeting and then murmured, "Mr. Motou, thanks for helping out with this decision." His phone went off a second later and he stared at it in dread for a moment before silencing it.

Yugi leaned over and looked over his shoulder. "Kaiba's calling you."

"Yes, thank you, Yugi, I am aware of that."

Solomon smiled at this exchange and his grandson ignored Yami in persistence of pressing the accept button; the red-eyed teen went from looking at the elder man to jumping a mile when Seto's icy voice snarled into his left ear when Yugi held the phone up to it.

"That was completely reprehensible, he had no right to say anything and if he did want to ask you about your relationship he should have at  _least_ had a conference with family around for support. Fucking bastard."

Yami groaned and snatched the phone from his look-alike, grimacing as he murmured, "Cousin, I really hope Mokuba is not in the room with you" in Arabic, voice sharp and angry.

"Whatever." There was a pause and Yami distinctively heard him rustling through papers as he leaned back into the couch's backrest and narrowed his eyes. "What's the plan anyways?"

"I figured I would transfer," he said simply.

Both Solomon and Yugi immediately looked at him in alarm and he felt his stomach sink; of course they knew Arabic too. Why  _wouldn't_ they? Solomon went to Egypt often so it really should  _not_ have been a surprise. It was no wonder that he would teach Yugi when he was old enough to learn. But apparently he couldn't read it.

He wondered what the point was of the elderly Motou teaching Yugi to converse in it if he could not read it when it was clearly in his grasp.

Then again, Solomon was not his father and there was no parallel between the two that he could honestly find in order to draw a similarity. The most they had between them was gray hair and even that was different.

"What?  _Why_?" his cousin demanded angrily.

Yami dragged a hand down his face and barked, "I do not have a single mark on my school record, Seto. I pretty much have a very open invitation to any school I wish to go to and my education is going to be funded for me. I can transfer and avoid any further scandal—"

"You cannot transfer, Yami, we discussed this earlier," Yugi snapped at him.

He shifted position, crossing his legs and narrowing his eyes in frustration. "Well I cannot be home schooled, Seto. I just can't. I could do online courses but—"

"You are not throwing away your education!"

"Yugi, shut up."

The smaller teen glared at him spitefully. "No, you shut up. I already told you! You can't get a transfer. The project is  _half_ our grade. If you don't do your half, I am totally screwed."

For a long time no one spoke and then finally Seto sighed, "When?"

"I don't know," he answered, narrowing his eyes.

"You don't have to do this, cousin. You don't have to go into hiding."

"I am not  _hiding,_ " Yami snapped viciously, glaring at the ground.

"Well you're not dropping out of school."

"I know that."

"Fine. I'll see you at the fucking conference tomorrow." He paused as if he could sense Yami's finger over the end button. "And don't fucking open your goddamn mouth."

"Love you too, jackass."

Seto snorted into the phone and hung up and Yami got up and walked out of the house without a glance at the two Motou's.

* * *

"I'll begin with my extreme  _dissatisfaction_ with the way my cousin has been treated. Your staff is supposed to be taking care of its students, not letting all of this go on. And don't tell me you're oblivious to the  _shit_ that has been going on," Seto started before they even got seated; Yami sunk his nails into his knees and clamped his jaw shut in an effort not to call him out on this fact. His cousin was on a roll—tired or not—and he was going to be on fire all day. "Yami's personal life is of no concern to this school but the fact that you have allowed all of the things that has happened is  _sickening_. You should have put a stop to it all and I have  _yet_ to see you do so.  _And_  I would like to know the source of this information you confronted them with yesterday."

Yami watched as their principal paled for a moment and then sighed softly, looking extremely embarrassed. "Mr. Kaiba, I do apologize for any distress caused. One of my faculty witnessed your…cousin"—both of them barely held back the snorts that threatened to come out due to his dubious expression, obviously unable to see any resemblance—"and Mr. Motou together on the weekend and were very uncomfortable with the thought of them continuing their relationship while in school for their own safety—they have asked for anonymity in the matter, but until this weekend, we were not aware if your cousin and Mr. Motou were truly seeing each other. We were aware of the rumors but it was all speculation."

"Oh, so speculation doesn't merit a little protection when the two of them are  _obviously_ being targeted?" Seto asked in a sickeningly sweet voice that Yami recognized as his "kill voice"; he always got this way before he used some backward method to catch his prey. "You would have to be  _blind_ in order not to see the bruises that Yami has gotten from this pathetic facility. And if he has bruises, then there is no doubt that Yugi has gotten them as well. Why pick on one and not the other? Don't insult my intelligence. You've seen them."

"Mr. Kaiba, are you sure you want me to continue?"

He almost told him to fucking surprise him but instead nodded at him curtly.

"Mr. Sennen and Mr. Motou were seen together kissing in public."

Huh? But they hadn't kissed. They had gotten close…Yugi cringed. They must have seen it when he  _went_  to kiss Yami but had not seen him turn away from him at the last second.

"As I am sure you are aware, homosexuality is not a crime."

Yami cringed slightly. Oh Ra…

"No one is accusing them of any crime, Mr. Kaiba. However I have to listen to the concerns of my faculty and think about the boys' safety within the school—"

"Where exactly were you two on the weekend?" Solomon finally asked, turning to them and cutting the principal off.

Yugi couldn't help but grin slightly. "Tokyo."

Yami shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stared at the desk.

"Yami will not attend any further classes at this school for the next two weeks. I am pulling him with immediate effect for the time being. Yugi will be staying here and I am making it  _your_ responsibility that word of his sexual orientation and relationship status does not become even  _more_ of a talking point amongst faculty or students. Do  _not_ doubt my anger on the subject and I will take this as far as I can if I feel he is discriminated against in any way."

Dear Ra, did all of his cousins know? Yami chewed his cheek. Bakura would never have told them. Loyalty was drilled into him. If he was going to tell them, he would have asked him first. And aside from that, unless he was using it as a joke, he wouldn't have even bothered to think about it again anytime soon.

But Seto wouldn't even give a fuck about Yugi or if he got kicked around if he didn't know. So either he was the most obvious person in the world or Bakura had told them. And neither of those seemed likely. So maybe Seto just understood him that well.

That wouldn't be too terribly surprising.

There was a reason the two of them always fell into a pair like they did when they were all arguing.

"Mr. Motou, do you have anything else you would like to add?"

"No."

"In which case Yugi will be leaving with us this morning but will be back tomorrow. Good day."

Yami immediately got up and followed his cousin who was practically out the door before the other three realized it was the end of the meeting; Yugi and Solomon hurried after them to find Yami and Seto in the parking lot, leaning against his black Mercedes.

"What the fuck was that?" Yami demanded angrily. "I said I was going to  _transfer_!"

"Yeah, well now you're not."

"What the  _fuck,_  Seto!"

His cousin ignored his furious glare to look at his phone, pointedly waiting for some kind of voiced gratification. Yami was five seconds from choking him to death when the brunet suddenly leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Think about it for a minute, cousin. You're going to leave Yugi completely defenseless to save your ass? Aren't you tired of running yet? You've been stuck here for two years in order to avoid the stupid crap back in Egypt. Don't you ever get tired of having to move around for others?"

He was playing with his pride and Yami's ego rippled with the blow before unifying and tripling.

"Very well," he agreed through his teeth, glaring at him coldly for a moment. "Two weeks."

Seto barely hid the smirk in his eyes but managed to nod at him while Yami stared at him in complete distaste. The look on his face clearly boasted he had won and Yami wanted to slap it off his face but that was the way they were with each other; their egos flared and grew tenfold when they butted heads and they did it so often it was a wonder that their heads were not twenty times their size.

Yami did hate the fact that Seto would not let this go, however. He would hold it over his head for as long as he wanted. It was what his cousin did. He was so used to being a CEO that outside of the office he did not seem to know how to turn it off. When one gave in to his demands, he would keep it like Yami did his grudges—in the back of the mind, always there to pull back to the center when they had alone time, the focal point of attention for select amounts of time, always nurtured in the darkness.

An argument with Seto over something small and unrelated and his cousin would pull it out like a secret weapon. He would say that he had been the one to suggest the solution and that Yami should be grateful that he had done so. That was how his cousin worked. He took what he won and accomplished and he threw it back in your face when you dared to challenge him.

"I suppose I should thank you."

This time the smirk pulled his mouth up and Yami curled his lip back in distaste, showing off his sharp canines; out of the family, it was only Seto and Mokuba who seemed to not have sharper-than-average teeth.

"You're welcome."

Smug bastard. Yami wanted to punch him but instead fisted his hands in his jacket pockets, eyes blazing with anger while his cousin smirked wider and then got into his car and drove off without a second glance. Yami couldn't help it when he pulled his hands out, middle fingers flying up; he stared in shock when Seto actually stuck his hand out the window and shot him a bird in response.

Well fuck.

* * *

"So what do you actually plan on doing?" Yugi wondered as he stepped around the table to face him; Yami ignored him for a moment and then pulled out something from his backpack that gleamed and glistened like gold and left his mouth falling open in shock. Was that what he thought it was?

Yami pushed it away and pulled out a small box before pushing it over with the other thing and then plopped down in a seat, grabbing it and pulling it over his head. "I don't know yet."

"Is that…?"

"The Millennium Puzzle, yes." He looked it over for a moment and then turned away again. "I keep it with me at all times. It's my good luck charm."

"You didn't have it at the concert."

"No, but I had the eye with me." He held the golden upside down pyramid and tapped the center piece, the carving of an eye, before putting it down to rest again. "The Puzzle is supposed to grant protection or something. That's the idea, anyways. The pharaoh Atem wore it to protect himself and the rest of Egypt. Imagine how bad it felt to have my father hand it to me to put back together again when I was only three."

Yugi felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do yet. I have to think it over." He sighed and the Puzzle felt heavy when he leaned forward and put his left elbow on the table, supporting his chin with his palm; idly he reached over and messed with the box that he had put down with it so that golden carvings and dark red-black velvet stared back at him. "I'm thinking about just doing online. It would be easiest. Everything would die down before it could start up again."

"Nothing is going to die down if you back out like a coward—what is that box?"

"It held the Millennium Puzzle. It was found in Pharaoh Atem's tomb."

Yugi stared for a moment. His grandfather once told him that he had seen this box but when he had tried to bring it back to Japan with him when Yugi was a toddler—he'd left Professor Hawkins to take care of Yugi that year because he was actually getting paid for this and the money would help out drastically—he had been forced to leave it at the airport. Did Yami's father have something to do with that?

"Can I see it?"

Yami looked at it for the longest time and then slowly pushed it over. "Don't take any of them."

"What?" he muttered, but Yami waved him off dismissively and Yugi peeked inside only to go impossibly wide-eyed. Sitting there were Duel Monsters cards and the one on the top? Orisis the Sky God. He pulled the deck out and looked it over, gawking when he found Obelisk the Tormentor and the Winged Dragon of Ra right behind the two-mouthed dragon.

"The Egyptian God cards."

"Yep."

Yami didn't sound very enthusiastic. He sounded bored.

Yugi gave him a confused look and then blinked before shrugging and looking the deck over again; he had a lot of these cards—in fact, it looked almost like the deck he had constructed with his grandpa's help when he was younger. Silver Fang, Feral Imp, the Exodia pieces, Summoned Skull, Magical Horn, Enchanted Elf, Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Kuriboh, Multiply, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Gaia the Dragon Champion, Curse of Dragon, the Full Moon card, the Burning Land card, Book of Spells, Magical Hats, Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress, Mammoth Graveyard, Swords of Revealing Light, Monster Reborn, Time Wizard, Baby Dragon, Thousand Year Dragon…but then he also had the rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon, the even rarer Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Toon Town, Relinquished, Red-Eyes Black Skull Dragon…

"Wow, you have a really nice deck."

Yami made a noncommittal noise and Yugi would have snapped at him that it was a compliment not to be ignored, but Yami was busy playing with the golden links of the chain around his neck, tangling his fingers in it subconsciously.

Yami wasn't even there with him.

Yugi rolled his eyes and put the cards back in the box before closing the lid gently and pushing it forward; Yami didn't react to it until a minute had passed and then finally he went to grab it but ended up staring at his fingers which turned red when he didn't untangle them before reaching. Rather than untangling his fingers, he just grabbed it with his other hand.

"You know you're being a coward if you do online, right?"

"Better a coward than a fool."

"In your case you would be a foolish coward."

"I would not."

"Yes you would. Now what the fuck are you going to do? Because you can't just ditch me to do the rest of his project. And if you quit school for online…"

"I wouldn't be ditching you. I would help you finish it. I'm not that cruel, Yugi."

He barked out a laugh. "Um, yes, actually, you kind of are."

Yami gave him a glare and then got up and Yugi could see that the Puzzle's chain was longer than he had initially thought because the pendant itself rested against his stomach when he stood at his full height.

"I'm the cruel one. Right."

"Excuse me? I am not cruel, you asshole. You are."

"Explain to me, how exactly I am the cruel one, Yugi."

"You're the one who is threatening to ditch me completely at school."

Yami opened his mouth to bite back but then slowly closed it and looked at him for a long time. Yugi wasn't worried about the project. Not at all. That was just a lame excuse. No, Yugi was worried about Yami not being in his life anymore. Right now, even as fucked up as it was with how they acted towards one another, Yami was the only constant in his life. And, because of everything that had happened, his only friend.

Yugi wasn't worried about a bad grade at all. He was worried about being left alone completely.

Yami opened his mouth again but the sound of a clicking like the doorknob being twisted made his head snap around, freezing in place for a moment before reaching out for a knife from where it lay a few inches away from the Puzzle's box, left out from when he had dropped it on the table and been too lazy to pick it up again that morning.

Ha, maybe laziness had its perks sometimes.

Yugi didn't notice because he was standing up and staring.

Yami's fingers gripped the handle, slid it silently across the table, grabbing it hard in a grasp like iron and got ready to stab if he had to.

"Yami."

Just like that, he was breathing again, the knife was once again left on the table as he turned his head and looked at his brunet cousin who walked right past Yugi and handed him a stack of papers inside of a black plastic folder with multiple pockets; Yami didn't do the usual of asking what it was and instead peeked inside before putting it down.

"So it's actually going to happen?"

Neither Seto nor Yugi missed the way that his voice came out a little overwhelmed.

"It will be official that you are suing your parents for the physical abuse that you were put through in order to be put in the hospital."

Those red eyes flickered to the folder and regarded it like some kind of snake that might strike out at any moment, turning back to his cousin. "Thank you," he muttered.

"Are you going to look it over?"

"Yes, but when I'm alone." He paused and then gave the taller boy a smile. "Which reminds me, would you take Yugi with you?"

Yugi gawked and Seto gave Yami a vastly petulant look.

Yami waved a hand dismissively and Seto growled softly but then smirked and rolled his eyes, shaking his head before glaring at Yugi who opened and closed his mouth and then finally turned and started walking off; his legs were too long for him to try to fight like he had Yami. Much too tall.

Yugi grimaced, spinning around suddenly. "When are you coming back?"

"Friday after next."

"Oh." He paused and his voice came out horribly hopeful; self-hatred flowed through him at his own words. "Will you be there for all your classes?"

Yami didn't look up and he didn't look pleased with Yugi's question, leaning back slightly and flipping open the black folder to look at the sheets inside before replying with a soft "I don't know yet. I was thinking of skipping my first half of the day and just going for the other half."

Yugi cursed under his breath, too low for Yami to hear; if he did that, it meant that they would not see each other at all. For whatever reason, that thought threw him for a loop and he hated it.

* * *

Yami spent the entirety of his two weeks out of school just wandering the house, somehow always finding that folder nearby. The Puzzle would flash with warmth or cold chills when he felt something strong enough, and even though it was alarmingly weird, it made him feel better.

But the dreams it gave him—when he passed out on the couch on his back one night—left him feeling weird and sick, sticky with sweat and panting for air while his throat felt like sandpaper when he swallowed.

It was the same dream almost every time. Sometimes there were background noises and other times there weren't. Sometimes he could hear cries and sometimes he just felt like something was covering him.

Sometimes there was color—deep sunlight, too bright—and sometimes there was just darkness and the sensation of something closing in on him.

But every time, he woke up sweating and feeling sick to his stomach with a scratchy throat and a blank stare to his face.

It was the final day of these two weeks that Yami put the Puzzle in his backpack and took the papers with him to the Kaiba Corp headquarters to speak to his cousin; because he had never truly been there before, the secretary gave him a bland bored look and told him to take a seat, that Seto would be there when he felt like it.

When Yami pointed out being his cousin, she laughed in his face, said they looked nothing alike, played with the computer, and then said that so many people claimed to be his family in order to see him sooner it wasn't even funny. And then she was screaming at him when he knocked on the door twice before throwing it open.

Seto looked up and the secretary started apologizing until she was blue in the face while Yami gave her a disdainful look, turned to his cousin, and said, "I want her fired."

The brunet burst out laughing while she looked terrified. He had to admit that the idea was appealing but she was the only secretary that didn't want to give him a "fun time" and he would rather have her there than the others who had thrown themselves at him. It was really the only reason the clueless redhead was still there because he knew her "work" behind that desk was really just her chatting with her American boyfriend online.

"So, what are you doing here, Yami?"

He pulled the folder from his canvas bag and held it out. "I looked them over." He paused and then gave the secretary—who was still standing there with wide eyes—a sharp look, snapping, "Get the fuck out of here already."

She scurried and then fled behind her desk while he rolled his eyes and closed the door, watching the brunet who opened the folder and looked it over.

"Tell…Rafael, was it?"—Seto nodded without looking up—"that I want to drop the charges."

"What the fuck?" Seto snapped, looked up at him incredulously before glaring coldly. "Yami—"

"I'm going to give my father a chance to back off. If not, then I will take legal actions against him. But I don't want to harm my mom and she would be devastated if I were to do this to him. No, I will drop it only if he agrees to stay out of my life permanently. If he agrees, dismiss it. If he doesn't…sue his ass for all he's worth."

* * *

Yami couldn't really even pretend to be surprised by his arrival because he'd planning for it since before he was even out of the hospital because he knew he would come back again, just to try his hand at forcing him to change and bend to his will. He didn't look up when he entered the room and he didn't take a seat either, standing next to the table and writing some things on his homework assignment before letting out a small hum.

"Hello, father."

Ambassador Aknamkanon appraised him darkly for a moment but Yami didn't bother looking up even then, still writing before finally putting his pencil down and straightening to his full height, regarding him coldly.

"Have you come to talk to me about the shame I brought upon the family? Or are you here about the lawsuit? Either one really only spells trouble for you. Have you noticed that?"

He stood rigidly, indifferently, glaring. "You truly are a disgrace."

"I thought we already established that, father. I'm rather tired of these repetitions. I do have things to do. I don't have time to play memory games with you."

"I am your—"

"Father, yes." Yami picked up the knife so fast it sent the ambassador stepping back and dropping his raised hand. "But you're trespassing. I am emancipated. By all law you shouldn't even be here. I could cut you into a million pieces and sprinkle you in the grass and it would be called  _self-defense_."

Ambassador Aknamkanon glowered. "You don't have it in you."

"I have a lot in me. But you're right. I won't hurt you. Not until you give me reason to. And the last sixteen years don't count. Give me a reason to now and you'll see the monster you turned me into." He pressed the knife's tip into his left index finger, tapping the blade thoughtfully against a small drop of blood that started to bubble up there. "Just one reason. It's that simple. Easy, even.  _One. Reason._ "

"You dare to threaten your own father?"

"Call it what you like, but it's a more of a promise."

Ambassador Aknamkanon looked his son over for a moment and then his eyes lingered on the Puzzle. How long had this been completed? Had Yami been granted Atem's powers? As his eyes scraped over him again, he decided that he must have been, because otherwise he would not be standing before him as he was now.

No, before, Yami had cowered like a three-year-old while trying to escape his wrath which he brought upon himself. And now he stood tall and dangerous, a knife in his hand, staring at him darkly, waiting for him to make some kind of move.

And the only difference between the two situations was that single Puzzle.

And the knife—but that was hardly important.

Because even if the knife had been there, Yami would never have turned against him.

It had to be the Puzzle.

"I see you've done at least one thing right with your life."

"Get your filthy eyes off my Puzzle," Yami spat back. "Why are you here?"

"Your mother wished for me to speak some sense into you but I can see you're already too far gone."

"You have yourself to blame for that, father. You're the one who made me into a monster." He spun the knife in his grip lazily, not even flinching when he threw it up in the air and caught it by the blade, tilting his head and looking at him curiously. "You don't think I would use it if you forced my hand? You are a fool."

Ambassador Aknamkanon ignored him for a moment and walked around the table, smirking. "I knew you would never amount to anything. You were born wrong. Too soon. You were meant to be born on the eclipse. Instead you were born on the full moon. There was always something wrong with you, Atem."

Yami stared for a moment and then narrowed his eyes; he remembered on his birthdays his father always mentioned that he was born early, a day early, but he acted as if it was the end of the world. He remembered growing up and hearing that the pharaoh Atem had been born on the eclipse and Yami was supposed to be as well, his father claiming that the date he was  _supposed_ to have been born would have bestowed upon him strength and power beyond his wildest dreams. That superstition had grown to the point of being a bane of his existence; he looked liked Atem, he was almost born to the same "sign" as Atem, and all because his father was the descendant of the monarchs. "My name is Yami."

"You were born Atem and that is what I will call you!" he yelled.

"I was born your son but you don't consider me that. Why would you have the right to call me by my birth name if you cannot find it in yourself to call me your son, Aknamkanon?"

He raised a hand but Yami's knife hand was at the ready before he could blink and so he backed off. "Do not call me by that name. You have no right."

"Just as you honestly have no right to call me by either of my names," Yami said with a cruel smirk. "You know, people used to say that the solver of the Puzzle would go crazy. But I think I might have been born with it. I mean…you are my father. It would make so much sense."

"You've broken your mother's heart."

At this Yami went rigid but then narrowed his eyes into slits.

"She has spent her days praying to Ra that you will change your ways so that she may hold you again."

The fingers gripping the knife loosened and then tightened almost imperceptibly.

"She has prayed to every deity that you will become the son that we raised you to be."

"I am a product of my environment," Yami replied. "It matters not who I spend my time with when it is your fault I was born this way."

"You were not  _born_ this way!" he snarled. "You  _became_ a failure. You were not one before you left Egypt! Time spent here has left you weak and stupid."

"Time spent here…" Yami echoed softly, looking at the knife in his hand. "Time spent here…has made me realize just how wrong my childhood was. You don't just do those kinds of things to a child. How old was I when this first started? You said something about two months last time?"

"What?"

"Did I ever mention that I got my memory back?"

"You little bastard."

"You're my father aren't you? Then I'm not a bastard child. Although, you could just go ahead and say that in front of the whole world. It wouldn't really surprise anyone."

He opened his mouth but was cut off when Yami stabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, pulling it out with the blade through its center with a smirk before dropping it on the table and starting to cut it.

"Daddy's little monster. That should be my theme song. Daddy's little monster. A nickname, maybe." He chopped off another piece and scooped it off the blade with his teeth. "Did I ever tell you about my talent, father?"

Dear Ra, his talent…he remembered how his mother wept for him when she found out about it.

"Your mother cried over it."

"Yes, oh how she wept for me," he murmured, grabbing another slice of apple with the blade. "But honestly, father, have you got something to say that I haven't already heard a million times before?"

The door opened and both of them froze and turned their heads towards the noise, Yami going wide-eyed and Aknamkanon staring with a furious gaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	15. I Understand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon), partial Season 0 Yami, fear of insanity, underage drinking, rape attempt and implied sexual intercourse  
> Lemon Warning: Semi-dark lemon. SOME Season 0 Yami is involved in it. If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "I say we fuck the memories out of my head" until you reach the statement "Leave". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to get to the second part where the lemon is finished.  
> Lemon Note: The lemon actually serves a MAJOR purpose in this chapter and later in story.  
> Season 0 Yami Warning: Season 0 Yami makes an appearance for some of chapter.  
> Insanity Warning: Brief considerations that character is going insane. Nothing too graphic.  
> Drinking Warning: Underage drinking is indulged at gay bar.  
> Rape Attempt Warning: Not too graphic. Mostly just a conversation turned wrong and a fight.  
> Implied Sex Warning: Nothing graphic.

Chapter XV: I Understand

What the actual fuck?

Ra, did he always have to have such bad timing?

Couldn't he just  _once_ pick a good fucking time to show up unannounced?

Yami still couldn't move the blade away from his mouth, eyes wide and unblinking, owlish in expression and looking somewhat shocked, and Ambassador Aknamkanon had his eyes narrowed into a furious glare, his dark gray-brown gaze seeming to bore into his skin with shock.

It was kind of comical in a dark sense.

And that was exactly why he nearly burst out laughing.

Apple juice splattered from the blade like blood and if Yami were an apple, he would have been worried. But those red eyes, owlish and unblinking and so stunned, with that knife and an apple slice he had his mouth open to bite into, that was hilarious.

Oh the other hand…Ambassador Aknamkanon? Not so much.

"Oh, is this the little slut?" he growled.

And Yugi backed up with wide eyes, because that voice, that tone, made his skin crawl and now there were pieces falling into place. Oh holy shit, Seto wasn't kidding when he said that Yami's father was the one who put him in the hospital. And Yami's suspicions were definitely right. He looked like he wanted to beat him to a pulp.

"Father, if you touch him, I will be forced to take action," Yami muttered, taking his slice of apple and suddenly going back into motion, licking the blade clean of juice as the ambassador approached Yugi slowly. "That's your only warning."

And the ambassador stopped short to slowly turn his head, a small bit of fear in his eyes. And Yugi had to wonder what the fuck he had to fear from Yami when the boy hadn't been able to stop him before.

Yami made a purring noise and licked off some more juice left behind by his other apple slice, looking at his father pointedly. It was enough to make Yugi shiver in fear and his father stay as he was, frozen. When he got up, his father backed up a step as the taller teen strode towards him, pointing the knife lazily towards his heart. "I think it's about time you hit the road before something we regret were to happen, don't you?" He pressed the tip against his clothing and his father paled before backing up a step; Yami gestured towards the door, sliding the knife up and down his torso, muttering, "I can list off your vital organs. And I can stab through them like butter. It'd be fun, father. Want to play? You have five minutes to get the fuck out of my house before I do it."

For a moment he didn't answer or even move.

"I think maybe I'll split your stomach open first. Let your intestines fall out." He made a swiping motion with the knife before humming and then pressing it just above the belt, moving it as he continued listing off organs. "Here is your spleen—not really vital, but it's still there. Your liver—you know it's the only organ that regenerates? Pancreas—not vital, but it could be fun to cut out—"

And then the ambassador turned and strode towards the door with what little dignity he had left while Yami watched him with sharp eyes, waving the knife at him.

"Bye. Remember to bring a better conversation topic next time. I'm rather bored with the current."

As soon as he was gone, Yami rounded on Yugi, pointing the knife at him for a moment, studying him before turning away and tossing it onto the table with a small backwards glance at the wood. "Yugi, what the hell are you even doing here?" he murmured, and he sounded so tired it was amazing he had even just done what he did.

Yugi opened his mouth, not to answer but to ask if he was okay, but never got the words out because Yami spun around and suddenly grabbed him, pulling him straight into him. Yugi stumbled against him, the Puzzle hard as it hit his stomach, and moaned as Yami's mouth moved against his and a tongue sought his as a playmate.

His hands unconsciously grabbed at his arms to steady himself because the Puzzle in his abdomen kind of hurt. It was a lot sharper in edges than he had originally thought. It had looked a little blunt from where he was standing a few seconds ago, but now he knew the edges were like razors, that the flat sides were sharp where they joined. And the chain was so thick…

Honestly, how the fuck had Yami even managed to not notice when he got his fingers caught?

But holy fuck, the Puzzle was burning. It burned through his shirt and left his stomach searing, not with pain but with a strange sense of accomplishment, perhaps?

Either way, it burned and left him feeling warm and strange and so…oddly wonderful. It was one of those moments where he could melt into something without even really caring that he shouldn't.

And he knew he shouldn't, because this seemed like one of those times where he was supposed to push Yami away, to put some distance between them, but he wanted this just as badly as he did.

He wanted a distraction and that was what Yami sought too.

Otherwise, this wouldn't be happening.

"I say we fuck the memories out of my head," Yami growled against his lips when he pulled back to breathe some, mouth still extremely close to Yugi's.

Yugi laughed and nodded vigorously, gazing into hooded red eyes that seemed to bleed with the darkness of their pupils, that off-colored tint of blackish-gray swirling and discoloring them further. "Sounds like a plan."

Yami snatched his arm and led the way eagerly upstairs where Yugi was promptly thrown onto a mattress with a plush red comforter and what seemed like a million pillows.

"My mom likes to buy pillows," he muttered as an explanation when Yugi literally pulled away from him to twist his head around and look at them all, eyes wide; when he looked back Yami was giving him an impatient look.

And just as Yugi was about to get his jacket off, the phone started ringing.

"Ignore it," Yami breathed against his mouth as his hips ground into Yugi's; so he did, grabbing at Yami's shoulders as he slipped the jacket off and prepared to take his shirt off, only to stop short when the ringing did not stop. In fact, the more they ignored it and the longer it rang, the louder it got.

Yugi pulled away slightly to look at the little white device and a growl of "Yugi" made him turn back long enough to bunch Yami's shirt up in his hands and pull it over his head as the taller teen wanted.

"Fucking—Yami, I can't think with that stupid thing droning on and on like that!" he cried, annoyed.

Yami let out a snarl of pure rage and then snatched it from where it was charging before barking, "What the fuck do you  _want_ , Bakura?"

Yugi went bug-eyed when Yami pressed harder into him while undoing the belts on his pants with only one hand, glaring at the device in his hand and slipping the rest of his clothes off while Bakura said whatever it was he was saying.

"I don't know," he snapped, "tomorrow maybe? Look, can't help you. I have to go."

Yugi was startled when Yami gave him a look and gestured for him to get his clothes off, hurrying to abide by his wishes as fast as he possibly could. He was stripping of his own pants and boxers when Yami spoke again.

"I said I have to—because I'm trying to fuck Yugi, damn it!"

Yugi's mouth fell open as Yami hung up, putting the phone back in place and turning to him again with a wide smirk.

"We…really need to work on your censorship," the smaller boy muttered before shaking his head in a daze and quickly pulling his clothes off the rest of the way, watching as Yami twisted off him to let him get the jeans off and throw them down on the floor.

"You should work on yours," Yami replied gruffly as he got between his legs again, a finger entering him before he could even think straight.

Yugi snorted. "It never works."

"Admittedly, I've never tried it, but whatever. I could have censored if I wanted to."

Yugi let out another snort. "Right, Yami."

"I could. I haven't exactly cursed around you nearly as much as you do me," he responded—or at least he didn't think he did…did he? Yami thought back for a moment and then rolled his eyes before pressing a second finger inside of him.

"…Yeah, that's probably true," the smaller boy admitted around a loud mewl.

He pressed a third finger into him and Yugi squirmed because this seemed a lot faster than the normal pace but he was okay with that—he was, but holy fuck, he wasn't used to being prepped so quickly.

"Tell me something Yugi."

It sounded simple and casual enough a statement, but his next words tore that up completely.

"How do the others fuck you?"

He blinked wide eyes and moaned when Yami pressed into him almost immediately after taking his fingers away, baring his teeth next to his ear, growling softly. "Do they pound you? Or is it one of those slow and steady things? I bet I can do it better."

Yugi squirmed, surprised, shocked, and so turned on it hurt like all hell. His hand shot up to grab at Yami's hair, moaning softly once before bucking wildly against his penis, striking a bubble of need and control that burst inside of the taller teen.

"Maybe you pound them," Yami said softly before gliding his right canine over his soft baby-fat cheek, nipping with his bottom canine and pulling slightly before baring his teeth against his ear and growling loudly, the noise making him tremble and move faster. "Do they tie you up? I bet you've been cuffed a couple of times. Maybe even participated in a threesome? Hmm…"

Yugi grabbed at his shoulder and exposed his neck for Yami to nip at. One of the soft bites made him yelp and squirm, eyes widening in surprise as he realized Yami had broken skin.

"I wonder how many marks you've been given…"

When Yami suddenly pulled back and bared his teeth at him, Yugi blinked a few times, startled by the action and definitely caught off guard by the fact that he was no longer filled, hissing in annoyance. "Well?" Yami spat at him, his teeth gleaming with a small bit of his blood and tons of saliva mixed with the natural lighting the window fed the room. "Tell me."

Yugi wasn't exactly sure why he decided that he was going to manipulate Yami into giving him exactly what he wanted, not when this darkness that he was showing, so like that day in his room after reading his text messages, scared the crap out of him, but that was what he ended up doing. "They fuck me hard and fast and they pound me into the mattress until I'm too tired to even breathe," he hissed back, smirking when the taller boy's lip curled back slightly. "I fuck them until they can't walk anymore. And I honestly don't think you  _could_ do better than them."

Yami grabbed him hard, fingertips definitely going to leave bruises, roughly pushing him further into the pillows with the force of the lunge, snapping his hips forward and making him cry out in surprise at the intrusion.

Yugi tried to press his lips against his again but Yami turned his face away each time, sometimes burying it into his neck and licking at the bite mark he had left while never once faltering in his too-fast-too-hard thrusts. But even with his nails digging into his shoulder, and his hand ripping at his hair, the smaller boy managed to meet him thrust for thrust, moaning loudly and bordering on screaming when his prostate was struck.

It seemed the faster and harder Yami snapped his hips inside him, the higher Yugi's legs wrapped around his back, and the further up the bed they moved, because, not even a full minute into it, Yugi's head hit the bed's headboard and he pressed hard against it while the pillows fell and hit the ground soundlessly from either side.

Yugi wasn't sure what he was doing at first, but the change of position—the smallest, tiniest turn of his body, his face leaving his neck—made his eyelids flicker and his eyes shoot open wide in shock; Yami pressed his hand against the board and then slipped it up to the top, not bothering with the other which held his hips down against the mattress.

The bed was squeaking and it was a little irritating, but Yugi could ignore it, especially when Yami lowered his eyes towards his and narrowed them into slits, not once bothering to slow his pace.

The sound of skin slapping and the glistening sheen of sweat on their bodies and the moaning and borderline screams made it a lot harder than either of them had anticipated when it came to lasting.

But, on the plus side, the coils snapped in them both at the same time. Yami throbbed and emptied out in him while his own came in thick ribbons and coated them both; the taller teen pressed his forehead into the headboard, breathing hard.

Fuck, Yugi's legs felt like jelly and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to sit for at least a week…

He'd need one of those donut things—inflation tubes…

"Where…the  _fuck_ …did  _that_ …come from?" Yugi hissed, panting and looking at him with wide eyes; Yami gave him a single look before closing his eyes and going back to steadying his breathing, shaking his head slightly.

Well, fuck, was that what happened when Yami got curious about his other—very  _fake_ —fuck buddies? Ooh.

Well, that could work in his favor.

"Holy shit…I think I fucking love you right now."

Yami didn't react like he thought he would. He had expected him to laugh, but instead he was met with a cold, cruel sneer. "Right."

"I was referring to your dick, Yami," he snapped.

Yami rolled his eyes and shook his head. "We can't do this shit anymore."

Yugi didn't bother pointing out that he didn't pull away even as he said this, that he didn't pull out, that his flaccid penis was still very much inside him. "Oh, bullshit, Yami. It's not my fault you misinterpreted."

"Yugi, shut up already. I'm really not in the mood to hear whatever the fuck you want to say. Obviously the idea of us ever being together is your hard limit. If you're so fucking terrified—"

"Hard limit?" Yugi asked, laughing once. "This isn't some kind of BDSM experiment because you sure as fuck would not be my dominant."

"You know, you joke about every little thing you can get your fucking hands on, Yugi, but this isn't a fucking joke to me. It's a slap in the fucking face."

Yugi grimaced. "Yami, I'm—"

"Shut up."

"Would you just give me a second to explain?"

"Why should I listen to anything you say anymore?" the red-eyed teen spat, shaking his head but still not moving away. "You say and imply enough."

"I—I didn't think before I said it. That's all."

"Yugi, whether the fuck it was in the moment or not, the tone of your voice and the look in your eyes said it all. So, don't worry. I'll find a way to get over you."

Yugi opened and closed his mouth but ended up closing his eyes after a moment as well, chewing his cheek thoughtfully.

"I don't want to be fucking used anymore," Yami said suddenly, making him open his eyes and stare at a pair of red that blazed right through him. "It's pathetic and I feel like shit every time."

"I'm not using you!" Yugi protested incredulously. "In fact, you're the one who tops most often. If anyone is using the other, it's you using  _me_!"

Yami bared his teeth for a moment before looking away again. "I wonder if they all feel like this afterwards," he muttered under his breath.

Yugi was about to say they all probably felt like they fucking rocked his world or had theirs rocked, but then reconsidered as he really didn't want to fucking deal with it anymore, feeling sick to his stomach with the pain that radiated off the taller teen. And then he felt disgusting because the only thought that crossed his mind was nothing of an apology but came out as a sneer of  _Well, you're the only one so I guess they all do_.

And that was something that he had to be ashamed of because it was so  _wrong_.

"You know, you're blowing this out of proportion. It was just playful pillow talk," Yugi found himself complaining before he really thought it through, going bug-eyed when Yami turned his head and seemed to breathe hard through his nose before closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"I'm so done with this bullshit. I'm done putting up with all the shit you put me through, Yugi. I'm so sorry that you apparently seem to be  _allergic_ to even the word love, but it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you. For a while there I was convinced it was me, but it's all  _you_!" he spat, glaring and baring his teeth. "I admit that sometimes I overreact to some things but I'm pretty sure you would be reacting the same way if you were in my shoes."

"But I'm smart and that's why I'm  _not_ in your fucking shoes, Yami, because I didn't let myself get attached!" Yugi yelled.

"What the fuck is  _wrong_ with you?" Yami growled softly. "You tell me I don't know what love is, but do  _you_?"

"Look, I don't  _need_ you telling me how big of an asshole I am, Yami. I am well aware, okay?" Yugi spat.

"Don't get fucking smartass with me, idiot. Ra fucking—did your mom and dad slam your goddamned head in a solid oak door when you were a baby?"

He was hissing and Yugi was glaring, but both of them were hardening.

"The saying is dropping a child on its head—"

"I am not so stupid that I don't know that! I am just more fucking original than that."

Yugi made a scoffing noise and then shook his head. "You wish you were above the rest of us, don't you?"

"Don't fucking mess with me right now, Yugi."

"Ha, but isn't that what you've been doing to me this entire time, Yami? Are you too good to have it thrown back in your—" The cry that left his lips sounded almost akin to a scream but not quite there, not that Yami wanted that anyways; he had sensitive ears as it was. He didn't need Yugi's loud pitch to completely screw him over later. Yugi shot him a furious look. "That's dirty, Yami."

Yami sneered at him but didn't say anything for a long minute. "I think we might have ruined my bedspread."

That had to be the weirdest thing Yugi had ever heard in his life.

Yami had liked that color.

"Oh well." When he jerked backwards and pulled Yugi with him, the smaller boy yelped in surprise at the sudden falling sensation, grabbing at him with wide eyes before letting out a small breath of relief that was barely audible to even him as Yami steadied them so that he was sitting back on his knees with Yugi straddling his lap.

Yugi was tired, yes, but not enough to miss out on the sensation of Yami pulling him up to drive him back down just as fast, the movements making him hiss and moan as he grabbed at his shoulders harder with his nails.

But the studious light to the red eyes said that Yami knew about his little fear of falling, and that was why those lips were pulled back smugly as his movements continued. He wasn't laughing at him, but he was saying that Yugi should have known better than to think he would let him fall.

Yugi's heart squeezed a little, pain burning through the pleasure for a split second, but it was gone just as fast when nails bit in his shoulder blade and he let out a yelp that blended into a moan that eventually bled into a chain of scarcely-spaced mewls that seemed to bounce off the walls around them.

He leaned forward, buried his face in his neck, clamped down around him, back arching like a cat's, nails digging into his arms, rocking harder and faster until finally the coil snapped again. He collapsed into the worn out red-eyed boy who just barely kept from falling over by grabbing the bed cover as tightly as he could. His hand slowly reached up to rub at Yugi's back for a moment, closing his eyes and breathing hard.

And it wasn't until twenty minutes had passed that Yami finally let go of him and growled, "I was serious earlier" as he pushed Yugi back against the mattress, pulling away and out of him in one swift motion, giving him a somewhat bitter and cynical look. "I don't want to be used anymore. And I won't use you either."

Yugi gave him a startled, slightly hazed look before opening his mouth.

"Leave."

"What?" he choked, eyes wide.

Yami glanced at him as he got up to grab the Puzzle off the nightstand where he found that the bottom had been touching the bed; why this bothered him so much, he wasn't certain, but it did. "I said you have to leave."

"Oh, no, I  _heard_ that," Yugi hissed. "But what the fuck—"

"I'm not using you and you're not using me either. I'm tired of it. I've lost all passion for it. But then…that always happens, right? When things are one-sided? When they're just for  _fun_?" Yami narrowed his eyes into slits, the gleam of the sunlight making them look almost predatory. "Someone always gets bored, Yugi. Because that's human nature. We get bored with our toys."

Yugi opened and closed his mouth and then stared some more.

"I'll give you twenty minutes to get out. After that, if you're not gone, I'm going to throw you out on your ass for everyone to see," he spat before turning and walking off into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door.

He turned on the water but listened for Yugi moving outside the door, heard him grabbing his clothes, grabbing what he guessed was the towel from the sink out there, turning on the water and then walking off. He couldn't hear him get dressed, not that he would have regardless with the water on. But he did hear the door when it opened and closed again, not even a slam of a noise.

Yami breathed hard when he lay back against the door, groaning softly. He was so tired. In all honesty, he was surprised he even got that far in their little rendezvous. And he shouldn't have gotten turned on by that argument. Arguments with Yugi had never turned him on before.

Something was wrong in his head. It had to be.

His own actions made no sense to him anymore.

He shouldn't have acted the way he did.

He wasn't even  _angry_ before so what the fuck was going on?

Maybe it was some kind of psychotic break.

He honestly wouldn't have been surprised. Everyone seemed to be watching him, waiting for one.

Fuck, his cousins thought he was suicidal. At school they didn't leave his side because they were watching him for it. That phone call had been Bakura checking to make sure he was still alive, as he and Malik and even Seto and  _once_ , Mokuba—he said he didn't know why but Seto said to call him and so he did, because he didn't know about the "cliff diving" incident, because he hadn't been there to watch his red-eyed cousin drop into the water like a rock without warning, because he didn't even know that Yami couldn't swim—did every single day to make sure he was okay. If he even sounded off, they showed up at his house.

And he  _had_ sounded off once when they called because he had just woken up from a much needed nap that was again interrupted when Malik burst through the door screaming his name at the top of his lungs and making his head hurt.

Ha, and his father…with all the crap he had put him through, it honestly should have come so much sooner.

* * *

"Atem Sennen."

Yami almost didn't turn around, feeling disconnected from his name and his entire body, gaze widening and eyebrows furrowing; he didn't recognize that voice. He looked over, narrowed his eyes as his muscles tightened in preparation for a fight if he had to.

"Oh, hello Grinch-ducky," he muttered, turning away again as the blond huffed in soft annoyance; he knew without looking over what he was going to ask and instead waved his hand for him to take a seat before he could get the words out. If he was younger he would have been mystified by how the bench failed to creak under someone who seemed so powerful but he had learned a long time before that curiosity was a bitch and commonly fucked pain who made him its mistress when he voiced his thoughts.

"You don't seem surprised to see me."

"Why would I be?" Yami drawled, narrowing his eyes and moving to pull his right leg up to perch his chin on, moving his arms to wrap lazily around it with his fingers dangling over the side of the bench.

"I didn't think you would remember me."

"How could I possibly forget about the Grinch-ducky?"

The man snorted out a soft laugh despite feeling slightly unnerved by the boy's dismissive tone; he went to speak but a slight tilt of his head and the rustle of his clothing, the royal blue collar of his jacket shifting, alerted him to the thick chain around his neck, making curiosity prick at his insides.

Yami's eyes flickered over to regard him slowly, narrowing slightly before he turned away again, not about to start talking about the Puzzle; the blond cleared his throat slightly and shook his head, looking away after a moment as well.

"You came to ask me about why I'm even giving him the chance to drop the charges, yes?"

"…I admit I don't understand it. Why wouldn't you want to go after him?"

"I never said I wasn't going after him," Yami stated, narrowing his eyes and tipping his head slightly to the side. "I plan to go after him. Just…not in the way that you should know."

Rafael stayed silent for a long time. "What do you want to do to him?"

"Make him suffer," he stated simply, glancing at him sideways and scratching his jaw against the fabric of the skinny jeans he was wearing. "And I will. I'll destroy him."

"But if I remember correctly, you said you were going to back off because of your mother."

"Yes."

"But that's a lie."

"Yeah, Sherlock, it's a lie," he snapped, rolling his eyes and sighing with a shake of his head. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

Yami stayed quiet for a long time and finally looked over at him thoughtfully, red eyes gleaming and predatory in the light of the afternoon sun. "I don't want to hurt her."

"I don't understand that."

"She didn't do anything."

"Exactly."

The teen stared for a moment and then smiled wryly. "Sounds like you don't approve of my decision."

"I don't need to approve of it. It's your choice. I just…I want to understand what's going on in your head."

Yami moved his leg off the bench and straightened to regard him fully, eyes gleaming for a moment before he allowed his eyelids to droop and shadow them halfway, looking almost lazy in the way he rested back against the backrest, but Rafael recognized something in the outside corner of his outer pupil. Something dangerous and cunning that made his skin crawl.

And now he understood Seto's warning that he speak straightforward and phrase the questions and statements in the way that Yami couldn't back out of responding to. As long as he was direct, Yami would give him what he wanted, but if he skirted around the edges the other teen was very likely to deter him and lead him down a path that he didn't exactly want to go. And by the time he got his bearings again, Yami would prove a lot smarter than he looked, show that intelligence that he had spoken of before he went to the hospital that day.

"Don't give him room to change the direction of the conversation or you'll never get it back on track," the brunet had said. "He tends to play games with people sometimes. Especially when he's stressed out or in pain. Mind games. He'll turn the conversation from him to you with no way to get out of it."

"I don't think you want in my head," Yami stated quiet, smiling slyly as he tipped his head to the side slightly. "You tend to get lost."

"What is it that you plan to do to him?"

"Didn't we already—?"

"Not long term," Rafael stated, cutting him off and making the red-eyed teen blink in surprise before glowering. "The immediate one. I want to know what you plan to do him  _immediately_."

Yami ground his teeth together and looked away, reaching over to grasp at his Puzzle, briefly dragging his nail over the center and closing his eyes. "Seto told you about my little mind games, didn't he?" he sniped, not having to open his eyes to know that he was nodding. "Fucking asshole. Very well. You wish to know what I plan to do to him? If he gives me the chance, I plan to break him. All it takes is him coming close enough for me to do it. Giving me even the slightest reason."

"Physically or mentally?"

"Now isn't  _that_  a question?" Yami purred, turning a small glare on him. "You shouldn't ask so many questions you don't actually  _want_ the answers to."

"Tell me."

"Tell you? Why should I?" he snapped, bristling slightly before slowly shaking his head and turning away with a small smirk. "You should check your stance, Rafael. You're quivering."

The blond cursed under his breath but didn't respond.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Both."

"Christ." For a long minute the blond couldn't bring himself to speak again, eyes flickering towards the Puzzle which seemed to glow where it shouldn't have, swallowing hard once before dragging his gaze towards the red-eyed teen's face. "You didn't have that at the hospital."

Yami didn't reply immediately, regarding him curiously for a moment. "It was in my backpack. At home." He paused. "If you want the answer, ask the damn question, Rafael. Seto already told you how to fucking do it. So why don't you?"

"What about your mom? What do you plan to do to her?"

"I don't plan to do anything to her."

"But she never helped you."

"She never hurt me either."

"…I don't understand…"

"Have you ever been in love, Rafael?" he asked, watching him closely as a small frown tugged at his lips and he nodded slowly. "Then you should understand what it would mean for me to tear my father to pieces and let her deal with the aftermath."

"You're going to destroy them."

"Do they deserve anything less?"

Rafael begrudgingly turned away, unable to answer.

* * *

Yugi groaned in the back of his throat. How the fuck had he even ended up here? At a gay bar?

He swallowed hard, already extremely self-conscious, probably being paranoid when he felt like someone was  _already_ checking him out. His arms remained folded over his chest tightly as he leaned against the bar, next to some blonde girl who gave him a small smile but offered no companionship. Not that he wanted it anyways.

But then he glanced around tentatively, his eyes widening and his face twisting into some kind of grimace crossed with a toothy smile… _thing_ as he spotted several interested and overly curious gazes all directed towards him.

_So not paranoid_ , he thought, turning away again; had he been anyone else, maybe that would have boosted his ego, but there were no red eyes in the group and there were no eyes that caught his attention besides a pair of teal but he didn't bother with them because it was merely the uniqueness of the color that made him look rather than the expression that lingered there.

The blonde girl smiled at him over her cocktail, nodding her head to some mellow electric music drifting out of the speakers. "You've certainly got a lot of admirers," she said kindly. "It feels kind of weird to not have guys looking at  _me_ for once."

Yugi gave a small nervous, terribly embarrassed laugh as he looked at the counter.

"Would you relax a little?" she muttered, placing her now empty glass on the bar behind them and sighing. "You look like you might want to fight someone. Unfold your arms."

Yugi followed instructions but they fell and felt awkward in placement at his sides and his fingers wouldn't stop twitching, first busying them by scratching unnecessarily at his scalp until it practically burned beneath his nails, followed by leaning his elbows against the bar behind him and then fiddling absently with the hem of his shirt only to end up tracing his belts along his hips lazily before grabbing his wallet and going to count his money because there was nothing more he could do to keep his fingers busy.

"Will you stop fidgeting?" the girl snapped at him suddenly, startling him. "Relax. No one is going to bite you."

"Speak for yourself."

Both of them snapped their attention towards the newcomer, a blond boy with a lazy smirk on his face casually sipping a beer as he looked Yugi up and down slowly. He was kind of short—but of course he was taller than Yugi or Yami—and sort of skinny with tan, sinewy arms that made Yugi's stomach twist in knots. His hair was arranged in effortless spikes but it was clear he used gel by the way that it held itself and looked slightly shiny and sticky altogether. And he looked okay, with large, light blue eyes and a nice smile.

"Can I get you a drink?"

Yugi barked out a laugh. "Do I look anywhere near twenty-one?"

Just like that the smile was gone and he was given a strange look before the guy ambled off with a second glance at him while Yugi blinked once; oh, of course, his personality turned him off. Not the small body or the high-pitched voice that refused to deepen even though he had already hit puberty two years ago.

Right.

He rolled his eyes but was startled when she started laughing next to him.

"Okay, well I officially stand corrected. No one is going to bite, except maybe that guy. He looked carnivorous. Wanted a bite out of that cute ass of yours."

Yugi glowered. "Oh, you're so fucking funny," he hissed at her.

"That was downright hilarious. Oh my god, you totally should have seen your  _face_! All flushed and innocent and downright  _adorable_. No wonder you've been getting so much attention. I don't know  _anyone_ who  _screams_ fairy more than you!"

Yugi blinked once and then glared fiercely before turning away. "Whatever," he snapped.

It was not too bad, because at least the music was okay. The girl kept by his side the entire time, drinking cocktails while he sipped on a soda in order to be able to stay on one of the stools. And he definitely felt so much better with his back to the crowd because at least now he didn't have to  _see_ the stares. He could still  _feel_  them, though, and that was definitely not the best sensation in the world.

"I need to pee," she whispered suddenly, making him look up from his Sprite in surprise, feeling rather strange now that she was addressing him about something other than his so-called admirers. "I'll be right back."

Regardless of this, he nodded and went about drumming his fingers in time with the beat of the music, jumping a mile when a voice asked, "Can I sit here?" alarmingly close to his ear.

It was a trick, he knew it, but it didn't stop him from spinning around with wide hopeful eyes, only to feel his chest cave in as he regarded the newcomer; the teal-eyed boy from before. The boy was tall, with dark midnight black hair that was spiky in the front and was pulled in a ponytail in the back but had bangs that fell over a black and red headband. There was a mark beneath his right eye that looked strange even for a birthmark. And his eyes were sharp and narrow, not nearly as captivating or deep as Yami's, but definitely up there with them. His attire consisted of two parallel golden armbands and matching brown authentically-woven bracelets. On his left ear was a dice earring that hung past his jaw. Dark maroon was the color of his vest which hung over a dark gray-black shirt and black jeans with a single dark gray belt to hold his pants up. He had rather pinkish lips that turned in a boyish smirk.

Yugi blinked when an eyebrow arched and then furrowed his brows for a moment, glancing over his shoulder before turning back and murmured, "I guess you can. I mean, my friend was sitting here"—was she a friend? No, she wasn't a friend, but Yugi couldn't just say "oh that girl was sitting here but she went to the bathroom so I don't know what the fuck to say about that" which was what originally sprang to mind—"so I guess not. I don't know. It's whatever."

He chuckled but it sounded wrong to Yugi's ears. "Don't worry about it." Instead of sitting he stood beside him, leaning against the bar by his elbows and occasionally sipping his amber-colored liquid, humming along to the music and watching the dance floor while Yugi merely sat there silently.

He couldn't help it when he glanced at him sideways, looking him over for a moment, because that was what people did; they looked each other over when they thought they were in the safety of the darkness.

And, of course, Yugi wasn't.

"Where's your friend?" he asked, tilting his head towards him with an amused smirk.

Yugi blinked and twisted around in his seat for a moment, searching before rolling his eyes; if he ever saw her again, he'd cut her head off and put it on a stick, parade around with it and maybe even send it to Yami saying he killed one of his fuck buddies off.

"No idea," he stated, turning back with a shrug. "Said she was going to the bathroom."

"She's been gone nearly half an hour now," he laughed, showing off two rows of perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. "Is it okay if I take her seat?"

"Sure."

His stomach twisted with the statement and for a brief second his eyes sought out a familiar shape that did not exist in this group.

He sat on the stool and peeked at him from the side of his eye and Yugi felt his stomach clench; fuck, his eyelashes were pretty long. Not as long as his or Yami's by far, but still, they were longer than someone like Joey's or Ushio's or Tristan's. Not…as long as Tea's either.

"What's your name?"

"Yugi. You?"

He smirked. "I'm Duke."

Yugi opened his mouth to say something or other—he honestly had no idea what—but then his phone rang and when he pulled it out, the number made his stomach twist. Ugh, he didn't want to have to deal with Rebecca right now.

But the moment he put his phone away it vibrated with a text message that made his mind flood with a million different possibilities.

_Okay, see you later._

And it wasn't directed towards him either, because obviously, he hadn't been talking to him since earlier so he had misdirected the text, confirmed a moment later when the next came in.

_Shit, sorry. That wasn't meant for you._

_No shit,_ Yugi thought wryly, wishing he could see Yami's face if only to punch him in the nose.

For the next ten minutes it was too quiet for him. The boy next to him—Duke—kept watching him from the corner of his eye and when he spoke to make conversation, Yugi could not keep himself involved for longer than a minute. He couldn't focus on the teal-eyed boy. No, his mind kept conjuring up all the possibilities and giving him images he really wished he could destroy.

A red-eyed boy on top of Mai, inside of Mai, fucking Mai…

A red-eyed boy kissing someone, inside of someone, on top of someone, fucking someone…

A red-eyed boy pushing Tea against the wall, a piece of him inside of Tea, finger-fucking Tea…

He wished his head would explode right about this moment. Just to give him some peace, because the next moment, there was the image of those bright vibrant red eyes—those piercing red eyes…those  _furious_ , soul-wrenching red eyes.

"How old are you, Yugi?" Duke asked suddenly, angling towards him on his stool; if he noticed his lack of conversational skills or the fact that Yugi had mixed vodka with his Sprite when the bartender was not looking, he said nothing.

"Sixteen."

"Then how did you get into this bar?" he inquired, smirking widely, elevating a trim, dark eyebrow.

Yugi shrugged. "I'm small. Hardly noticeable. Snuck in. Might as well be invisible half the time," he said emotionlessly.

"So you're still in high school."

"Yeah. Where else would a sixteen-year-old be?"

He expected him to be offended, but when he laughed Yugi had to make sure he hadn't been overheard and that wasn't someone else, surprised when the teal eyes danced with amusement.

"How old are  _you_?"

"Eighteen."

Yugi took a massive sip of his soda-vodka and his head felt like it was pulsing with the music as he nodded once.

"How are you getting home?" he asked, putting his empty beer on the bar top and watching him curiously.

"Well, I walked so—"

"There is no way I am letting you walk home under the influence," he said slyly. "It's bad  _enough_ that I'm the one who bought you the alcohol in the first place. Especially seeing as you're underage."

Wait, had he just said he was going to  _pay_ for the vodka he had smuggled?

Yugi gave him a long, measured look and then downed the rest of his cup, closing his eyes against the buzzing that suddenly enveloped his mind. Holy fuck. "I don't have any other way to get home. Besides, I'm not drunk. I can manage walking a few blocks"—ha, a  _few_  didn't mean sixteen—"I'll just be extra careful of anyone looking for a short person to capture."

"Here, I'll drive you."

The small teen frowned a little but then shrugged halfheartedly; obviously Duke wasn't about to back down so whatever. But it was when they got out there that things seemed to suddenly fall into perspective out of nowhere.

Yugi was buzzed, yes, but not stupid and piss-faced. He realized the moment that Duke opened the back door what he meant by "drive".

The small teen gave him a furious look. "Just because you buy me a drink doesn't mean shit," he snapped. Ha,  _buy_. All he did was leave a few extra bills on the counter to make up for the vodka Yugi stole in the first place. That wasn't  _buying_ someone a drink. It was  _paying_ for stolen property.

Duke raised an eyebrow at him. "You said you wanted a ride—"

"Not like  _that_!" he spat. "I meant in the car—"

The taller boy rolled his eyes and gestured. "It would be  _in_ the car."

"As in buckled up, you actually  _driving_ the damn  _car_ , not trying to make me  _ride_ you in the backseat."

But the more he studied him, even with the haze in his mind, he knew for a fact that the older boy was drunk. And he had to wonder why he didn't notice this before. What the hell was wrong with him that he didn't recognize it?

Oh right, Yami was what was wrong with him.

When the kiss happened Yugi was reeling with the blow of dark red eyes narrowed into a look of hatred. When fingers traveled up his arm and cupped the back of his head, stroking the hair there, he was fighting off the burn of his aching heart. When the knee pressed between his legs, he was drowning in the memory of their little fuck in the bathroom. When he felt the hand on his cheek, he knew without a doubt that this was not Yami and that was why he pushed Duke hard.

The other boy stumbled.

"If I was looking for a fuck, I would have found one on my own!" he snarled. "In fact, I have a person who I do this with all the goddamned time. Granted we're"—he hiccupped and the noise threw him for a loop for a second before he remembered what he was saying—"fighting, but  _still_."

God, he wasn't even looking for someone else. He was just looking for a way to drown out his problems and a farther club that was close enough he could walk but one where it wouldn't be obvious who he was or what he was doing, where the rumors wouldn't exist. Where he wouldn't feel the weight of his grandfather's disappointment towards his actions a mile away. And this had been the only place he could find—a bar, a  _gay_  bar that he hadn't even realized existed until this very moment, one that he would have avoided if he had realized it was a gay bar  _before_ he got there. But it had been too late for him to turn away and besides, the guy had paid for his stolen drink…

When he reached out, Yugi smacked his hand away. "Don't fucking touch me."

When he approached again, Yugi grabbed a stone and hurled it; the entire back windshield broke into glittering shards of raining glass that he admired for a split second before he was knocked down. He landed with a sharp thudding noise, with Duke weighing heavily on top of him.

And then they were rolling and pulling at each other's hair, snarling and fighting and kicking and punching; it was only after he landed a blow to the nose that Duke faltered enough for him to knee him hard in the hip and slam his elbow into his ribs.

He was too buzzed to really remember what Yami had done to restrain him that day, what he had done to pin Joey at school. But either way, the three hits made blood leak like a faucet and Duke lashed out but he managed to twist out of the way, punching him in the lip and breathing hard.

And maybe he should have tried to talk Duke out of fighting him, warned him that he was drunk, told him to knock it off, but he didn't want to.

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to make him bleed.

So what kind of person did that make him?

When Duke stopped moving, only then did Yugi realize the extent of the damage he had caused. The taller boy's shirt was stained and blackened against the light of the streetlamp further off down the street. One of his teal eyes was already beginning to swell; his straight nose and pink lips were a bloody mess. He stumbled to his feet, took two tentative steps forward, peering down at the splatters of his blood that stained the dark asphalt of the road.

And relief flooded him slowly but surely when he saw his chest moving up and down quickly.

He groaned as he slowly turned on his side and spat out more blood onto the road, snarling, "You  _will_ pay for this windshield."

"Fuck you," Yugi spat, moving forward—presumably to kick him, he supposed; he didn't really know, because he was a little low on steam and tired and his right leg hurt like someone had blown it to pieces—but then merely shook his head slowly.

Duke finally got up from the ground in a slow, tentative movement, wincing several times on the way to his full height, before looking around for his keys slowly; when he finally got them, he limped over to the driver's seat, shooting him one last look over his shoulder.

It was only after he drove off that Yugi allowed himself to succumb to the pain in his leg, taking a seat and laying it out, hissing in pain when he tried to move it, pulling his phone out and dialing.

"Grandpa?"

The elderly Motou murmured a groggy, "Yugi? Where are you?"

"I…" Was the pain in his leg really worth all of this humiliation and sure-to-come disappointment that would mar his grandfather's face upon coming to pick him up? "Grandpa, I twisted my leg. And I can't walk. I'm…I'm buzzed."

For a moment he thought that Solomon would ask what that meant exactly but a small gentle sigh of "Oh Yugi" told him he knew exactly what it meant and the small boy couldn't help the tears that stung his eyes, the way that they fell down his cheeks like twin waterfalls.

* * *

Yugi looked his ass over, studying himself excessively in the full body mirror. He had a nice ass. A little fuller than Yami's, cuter, rounder, but where his was round and cute, Yami's had this strange quality that made you really lust after it. It was luscious, somewhat flat but with enough to it that it filled out his jeans nicely and left a lot of girls in school—before the whole incident anyways—practically drooling over it. Yugi remembered all the time he had listened to girls chatting about "the new kid's ass" freshman year.

He wiggled his bottom a couple of times and then smirked. If he could have fucked himself, he definitely would have, but he couldn't so he would have to settle for Yami's ass instead of his.

* * *

It was so odd because he had seen the red-eyed teen only a week ago, and yet he was starting to get impatient and every cell in his body wanted Yami close to him…or rather, close to his tongue and his penis, but still close to him in the physical sense. And it was so sickening because at some point he started staring at the couch as if it might turn into the taller boy and it was exciting in the most disgusting of ways.

He was like some kind of junky and that disgusted him on so many levels he couldn't even wrap his head around it. If that couch  _did_ turn into Yami, he swore he'd pray every single day and slaughter a cow, dance around fire and bathe in the rain if he had to.

He knew he had problems with people being out of his life—his parents were never around, his grandfather was always away on expeditions for fuck's sake—but this was ridiculous. He had withdrawal symptoms. He was twitchy upon awakening—but that could have been the sex dreams—and he kept hoping that Yami would walk through the door. And then of course he berated himself for being an idiot because Yami could not walk through the door without knocking first and Yugi  _letting_ him in and then his mind would go on a completely different path that at some point, once  _again_ ended with sex.

He wasn't even sure how it happened and it made his head spin.

He jumped off his chair and got as  _far away_ as possible from the couch before the cushions turned into ass cheeks and ran his hands through his hair. He was definitely losing his shit.

He wanted—no, he  _needed—_ to see Yami again.

The only problem was that he was not sure if  _Yami_ wanted to see  _him_. Considering the shit storm that they had unleashed on each other, it would not surprise him in the  _least_ if Yami did not want to speak to him—at all. He hadn't even gotten up the courage to call the taller teen, that's how badly he was scared he had ruined things between them.

* * *

Duke Devlin. He claimed he fucked the shit out Yugi in the backseat of his car.

Yugi had neither denied nor confirmed this because it took too much energy. It took too much energy trying to persuade people who had already made up their minds about him having taken it up the ass from the teal-eyed boy. Far too much energy trying to change their minds. He didn't want to waste more than he had to as it was.

He was so tired of that bastard. So he rejected him. So what?

It really shouldn't have been that surprising.

But the look Yami gave him when the rumor hit his ears, the way he seemed to crumble in on himself momentarily, the way, for that brief second, his eyes looked haunted as if someone had just killed him, had killed  _him_ inside.

And it was worse because the red-eyed boy refused to look at him again afterwards. He didn't look over in his general direction. He didn't even bother raising his head when the teacher called his name to ask how their project was going.

And the teacher's reaction to his silence, the way he wouldn't answer, was anything but good. Yami was written up for not behaving when someone claimed that he had done that to them—and he had, so he was forced to do the same to Yami—and the red-eyed teen had snatched the slip from him, torn it up, and walked out of class without a second glance.

Dear gods, things really were fucking up, weren't they?

* * *

"I agree to your terms."

Yami was leaning back in his seat across from his father, across from Seto, across from his lawyer Rafael who would give him strange looks every now and then. Almost as if he expected him to show fear in the face of the man before him.

But Yami didn't.

Because, around his neck, was the Puzzle.

And it shone a million different ways in the fluorescent lights.

"Then drop the lawsuit," he stated in a bored tone, not really paying attention to what was going on, more preoccupied with the things in his head that wouldn't leave. Of course Yugi had gone and gotten fucked. Why wouldn't he? That was what he did. He had fuck buddies. He didn't date.

He fucked and had fun with it. He pushed and pushed until you couldn't take it anymore.

And Yami hated him  _so_ much because of this. But it made so much sense and he felt so stupid for not realizing how pointless it was to even  _think for a second_ that Yugi would do anything else.

But Duke Devlin?

He glowered at a spot just behind his father's head, wishing he could burn a hole through it.

Duke Devlin was a piece of shit.

He used people and tossed them aside.

He commonly fucked with people—not physically but emotionally, mentally, beat them down and didn't bother to see if they got back up again.

But the black eye he sported, the busted lip, the way he winced every now and then when he breathed…

What if it hadn't been consensual?

What if he had raped him?

Yami thought it over. That would explain Yugi's silence.

Maybe. Possibly.

Ha, Yugi would be silent either fucking way.

Yami rolled his eyes as his father's lawyer started talking and his eyes flickered towards Seto who narrowed his gaze and gave him a warning look that he pointedly returned with a glare.

* * *

Yami wasn't even really sure why he was thinking of her at the moment, but a glance at his worksheet answered that question; his science homework was on the genes that would be passed to a couple's child.

He was half-tempted to write "temper, mental issues, monsters and lack of empathy" under the block for his father and "stupidity, weakness, blind eyes and disillusion" under his mother's.

Because, honestly, how was it possible that you could turn a blind eye to your husband beating your child right in front of you and then turn around and comfort him at night?

He closed his eyes for a long moment.

And he really had to wonder where he went wrong with it all.

What had he  _done_ exactly to make it seem okay for her to stand aside while his father did that?

The few times she had intervened had been when it had gotten to be too much and his father had never  _once_  raised a hand to her.

No, she  _had_ the power to stop it if she wanted. All she had to do was get in between them, but she never had.

Did she honestly think it was normal? That the scolding he  _occasionally_ gave her was ordinary? That the beatings he had suffered through since before he could even  _remember_ were supposed to be part of everyday life?

Yami grabbed at his bangs, tugging harshly for a moment.

Maybe he was just as stupid and delusional and plain  _blind_  as she was. He had to have gotten it from someone.

Because if he hadn't, how could he have ended up this way?

* * *

"I don't think that's…" Yami started, frowning and trailing off before crossing his arms and staring at his blond cousin who arched a brow at him and stared pointedly. "Seriously, that's…Malik, I don't think…"

Why was it so hard to get the words out of his mouth?

Was it because he wanted it?

No, that couldn't be it, could it?

Yami had never wanted something like that before, no matter the stress of the situation.

"Look, Yami, you won't even  _remember_ what happened afterwards," he stated, gesturing.

"I think that's the whole point of getting fucked up in the first place," the red-eyed teen snorted in amusement, shaking his head and frowning as he continued looking at it. "But I don't know, Malik…"

"God, you're a fucking wimp," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "It's not going to  _hurt_ you."

Yami narrowed his eyes and glanced at him from the corner, tilting his head and raising a brow. "You mean to tell me that I  _can't_ get fucking diabetes or high blood pressure or clogged arteries or—?"

"Ra fucking—I knew I should have told Bakura to come instead!"

The red-eyed teen flinched slightly and looked back at the cooler that the blond had brought over; it wasn't a secret that he crashed violently when he had too much sugar, not even slightly. Just like it wasn't a secret that he and Malik were always at odds and tended to feel a little… _inconvenienced_ when they were pushed together for longer than a few minutes with no one else around. _  
_

"Shit, I'm sorry," Malik muttered, frowning. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Didn't you?" Yami mumbled, shaking his head. "Whatever."

Yami tended to freak Malik out. It wasn't on purpose and he didn't want it to happen, but it did. The blond didn't know how to act around him after he found out all of the things that his dad had done. He didn't know how to react to his flinches or silence or his temper. He didn't understand what he was supposed to do to get closer to him and he didn't have the knowledge of how to keep from scaring him when he moved too fast and Yami would watch him as if he was prepared for him to lash out.

And Malik was too much for Yami. He didn't think before he did things. And he was tactile. He liked to touch things, to see just how badly he could scare others with simple taps of the finger to someone else's skin. He was loud. He talked fast. He got impatient too easily. He got mad over the simplest things.

The relationship was so strained between them that half the time it was a wonder they could coexist at all. The two of them never got together willingly, not without a push or someone else with them. Because otherwise things were just too different and odd and just plain  _wrong_ for them.

Seto and Bakura had honestly given up a long time ago trying to make them comfortable together, and it was obviously a strain for them both because they wanted them to be close as cousins. And neither was oblivious to this or the fact that Mokuba was the only one who tried and tried but always ended up empty handed for his efforts.

The red-eyed teen undid the lid and peered inside at the candies and sodas and ice creams that the other male had brought, frowning at the concept of eating until he was running on a sugar high and crashed like an overworked animal.

"Look, all right, if you don't want to do this—"

"No, no, it's fine," Yami cut in, putting on a weak, strained smile, trying to placate him and failing miserably; how could he pacify him if he couldn't do it for himself? "Just…give me a second to think."

He was honestly surprised when three minutes later, Malik had yet to shout "Second's up!" and throw something in his hand or grab something for himself and race off to start eating all of the sugar; he couldn't even see impatience on his face when he glanced over from the corner of his eye and cautiously reached in to grab a can of Sprite.

Malik snatched a popsicle as soon as he had moved his hand out of the way, tearing the wrapping open and shoving it in his mouth; Yami fought back the urge to flinch at the sudden movements, instead busying himself with opening the can and breathing hard against the metal as he pretended to take a sip.

Ra, how awkward…

Malik had stuffed a popsicle in his mouth to keep from having to talk and Yami was trying to steady himself by breathing harshly against the top of a soda can; how much worse could this situation get?

He swallowed hard, let the freezing cold liquid burn down his throat, the fizz of carbonation nearly making him choke but sheer will keeping him from doing so. The teen next to him was studiously sucking and staring at the cooler, intent on not having eye contact or making any sudden movements.

"TV?" Yami blurted out, moving the can away from his face and gesturing wildly towards the big screen; his cousin looked at him as if he had just given him entrance to heaven, grabbing the cooler and going over to the couches quickly.

He sucked in a breath, held it for a minute, and then finally moved towards the furniture as well, going to the other side and taking a seat, grabbing some candy from the massive white container in front of them, unsure of what else he could do. He couldn't make conversation because then Malik would get animated and Yami wasn't under the disillusion that he could handle him if he did.

Ra, he was so pathetic.

"I, uh…thanks for coming over," he managed to hiss out.

Malik's mauve eyes settled on him for a long second before he looked away with a simple "Yep."

Yami hung his head, tapping his fingers against the side of the can and hesitating ripping open the bag of M&Ms in his hand. If he started eating too much sugar, he wouldn't stop until he crashed. But what else was there to really do? Ever since he had kicked Yugi out, he had been constantly assaulted with his cousins' presences for the reason of his dad staying nearby in a hotel down the street.

And who knew what his cousins would do if he entered the house?

Yami was pretty sure that Bakura was liable to stab the shit out of him, Malik was likely to pin him to the wall and watch him bleed to death, and Seto…well, he'd probably go with the cleanest way of assassination, gun, a bullet right between the eyes.

Vaguely he remembered archery class, having organs listed off for them to aim at for the dummies. He remembered the way that the bow had quivered when he released and the way that his instructor had looked at him as if he was a living, breathing demon when he was told to aim for a target that was all the way across the lake.

The thought sent him chugging the Sprite in his hand and Malik jerked his head in his direction, confused by the sudden action and alarmed when his cousin started tearing the M&Ms open to chuck them into his mouth and swallow the entire thing with minimal chewing.

"Shit, Yami, slow down," he muttered, somewhat awed when the other teen started grabbing the popsicles and pulling one out to start chomping on the flavored ice, eyebrows crinkling slightly in a show of a brain-freeze that he refused to acknowledge.

He shouldn't have been but he was laughing when his red-eyed cousin spun on him with a furious look as if he wanted to tear his head off before going for the sweets again, hurrying to tear at the wrappers of candy and chug another Sprite. Well, at least at this rate he wouldn't have to worry about him being awake for long. He'd crash and then he could just relax and watch TV all day.

Plus Yami would get his artificial high and not have much space to think in that massive mind of his and Malik could just lay around and not bother with him and—What the  _fuck_? Why was he suddenly slowing down like that?

Red eyes were gleaming when they slid over to study him slowly, a frown twisting his lips. "Why did you even come over here?" he asked, sitting up slightly. "We can't even get along for five seconds when we're alone. And yet here you are."

"What? You expected me not to come?" he asked in disbelief.

"You just want me to crash so we don't have to deal with each other," Yami muttered slowly, narrowing his eyes but not stopping himself from opening the Kit Kat bar. "You could have just stayed home—"

"Fucking—Look, I'm uncomfortable with you but I don't fucking  _hate_ you!" he spat, eyes widening incredulously, shaking his head slightly. "What the ever-lasting fuck, Yami?"

The other teen shook his head and looked at the candy bar, bringing the chocolate-covered wafer to his mouth and taking a small bite to chew thoughtfully. "Sorry."

" _Ra_ , if I hated you, I wouldn't have followed up on having to call you all the goddamned time after school and I sure as  _fuck_ wouldn't have shown up here when you sounded so weird," he snapped, his insides coiling with tension; he didn't know how much worse a relationship they could have at this rate. But it was so strained because of both of them; neither of them had really put forth much effort when it came to it because they were both unsure of what to do or how to reach out and the other scared the crap out of them. With a third party it was easy because they could focus more of them than each other but like this, they had nothing to actively distract them. But either way it still felt like a kick in the gut to have Yami think that he would do that to him.

The red-eyed teen bit his cheek and the taste of his blood, the wafer and the chocolate made him flinch slightly as he unclenched his jaw, swallowing hard. "I never thought you did," he admitted, frowning. "I just…I could understand if you didn't want to be here. I mean, obviously you don't, but I would have understood if you decided to not come and just called or something instead—"

"What part of your dad being here do you not  _get_ , Yami?" he growled.

"I understand that!" he snapped, turning a glare on him. "What I don't understand is why you came here when you didn't even fucking have to! I scared him off last time—"

" _Last time_?" Malik echoed immediately. "What  _last time_? Last time you fucking went down the stairs with a few broken ribs and a fractured fucking wrist. Oh yeah, you  _really_ scared him off. Must have been all the  _blood_ , Yami."

Yami stayed quiet, swallowing hard and deciding not to comment; he didn't need them knowing about that. Especially not when he had told Bakura that he had been fucking Yugi that day. They didn't need more to deal with.

He shifted awkwardly and went back to grabbing some sweets from the cooler.

"Damn it, I'm so—"

"No, you're right," he stated with a shrug. "I didn't do anything to protect myself. My fault. I'm an idiot. Don't worry about it."

"Yami—"

"You know, if you could go make coffee, that would be really great, Malik."

"Coffee?"

"Yeah, I want coffee."

"What? But caffeine—I thought you were going to…"

"Oh, I'm going to crash. I just need something to wash this down with."

"Soda…"

"Damn it, Malik, I want some fucking coffee."

The blond flinched, eyes wide; Yami had never actually snapped at him like this, turned to face him completely, eyes narrowed into a blazing glare, jaw clenched and entire body rigid. He moved to get to his feet, unnerved by the way that Yami didn't break eye contact and then slowly turned on his heel to get into the kitchen.

Fucking hell, his cousin.

Two hours later he found out exactly why his cousin wanted the coffee; he was halfway through the stupid programming, surfing the channels, and he looked towards him when his mind registered the fact that he wasn't moving around anymore, only to find that he was passed out. The teen was curled up on his side in the fetal position, a cushion under his head and his entire body suddenly seeming that much smaller.

Malik didn't know whether to be impressed or freaked out by that.

* * *

The day she came Yami was working on the project. And it was stupid, because he didn't know what the fuck he was supposed to do with it anymore, but he was still working on it. Three weeks…he didn't understand why the teacher gave them an extra three weeks. It was awkward and strange, but he supposed it was because the beginning of second half of the semester would be  _after_  all the major tests and projects they had for other classes.

Or maybe he was taking pity on him. Maybe after he had gotten written up and left the room, he decided that things weren't going well between him and Yugi and just decided to move the date further back for them. It was possible. After all, as he had said, Yami was apparently his best student.

And what teacher  _wouldn't_ try to help out their best student if they had the chance?

He definitely wasn't complaining. Of course not. Not when he and Yugi didn't have a single thing done but the sixty-page essay that Yugi still needed to revise completely for them to make sure that there were no punctuation mistakes.

It was kind of funny, because his literature teacher didn't even pay as much attention to his punctuation as his history teacher did.

He wasn't expecting anyone when he opened the door and he definitely never expected her to be there—not once in a million years.

His stomach twisted and his fight-or-flight instinct made his body thrum with energy beneath his skin, his muscles preparing, his entire being going rigid and his breathing quickening for a split moment.

"M-mother," he managed to get out, wide-eyed. "W-what are you—? Is father—?"

"Atem."

She sounded so proud and yet so heartbroken it was overwhelming.

And Yami wasn't delusional. He knew the pride was merely because he looked okay, because he wasn't dead or something. And he knew the heartbreak. Because he mirrored it.

But he still had that weak desire to sink into the depths of her voice, drown in it, hear her sing songs to him to make him fall asleep at night, in that sweet tone that relaxed him no matter how bad things really got.

But no, the time had passed for that. He was alone in this.

Neither his mother nor his father would accept it.

And that was why she was here.

"Father said you never wanted to see me again," he muttered, because he had; not in those exact words, but the context of it was the same.  _My wife_ not  _your mother_.  _My wife_.

She took a deep breath, sighed through her nose, stepped inside, walked past him, waited for him to close the door, turned around…

"Oh, Atem, tell me it's not true."

He shook his head. "I cannot do that."

She stared and her dark gray-blue-red-flecked eyes watered. "Please, tell me it's not true."

He shook his head again. "Denial will help no one."

"It's not true. Tell me it's not true!"

"It's true," he snapped. "It's true. I am gay."

The slap was hard and sent him stumbling but he didn't fall, merely glancing at her and wondering vaguely if he had ever really  _not_ been alone. She had stood aside each time, had let his father tear into him, and she only ever checked on him several hours after everything had occurred, with such  _false_ promises…

"You say that almost as if you are proud!" she spat, shaking her head with the beginning of tears in her eyes.

Yami didn't answer her, because he just got tired of her denial. He wasn't proud of it. Years of living with them made him fully ashamed of himself. But what would be the point of saying this? It would ease no one's pain. And if she wished to think that he was proud of himself for this, that was her own right.

She was entitled to being wrong.

It didn't matter to him anyways.

It would all be over soon enough.

And after…

Well, there really wasn't much of an after that he knew of.

Right now, he only had the strength to deal with the present.

"How could you be proud of such a thing?" she cried, shaking her head as a tear leaked from her left eye. "It makes no sense. We raised you better than this! We raised you to be the best and you've turned into…a lowlife child like the rest of them at that stupid school!"

He didn't argue. He didn't have the strength to do something that would change nothing. He was tired. He wanted to get the stupid project done. He wanted high school over. He wanted to be able to drop it all and then just go to the next continent that caught his attention. Maybe Europe…possibly Australia. Fuck, he'd go to Antarctica if only there were people there and he wouldn't be allowed to wallow on his mistakes.

"You will always be my mother, as he will always be my father. That is biology. But biology is fickle. You may have passed a lot to me by DNA, but you did not pass along your intolerance or stupidity. You can disown me all you would like, but that does not mean much because you both have already proved that whatever strengths you may have once possessed, have been swallowed by the thought processes and natural instincts to become seriously flawed. How you feel about me is yours to shuffle as you see fit. But this is about you two, not me."

Another slap made him stumble but did not knock him to his knees.

"This is about you two—your inadequacies, your ignorance, your inability to accept, your fears of what others think of you. But you both used to pretend you were so selfless when it came to me. But selfishness is exactly what this all boils down to. Not once have either of you asked how I have dealt with this. Did you think I  _wanted_  this? No, of course I didn't. And of course it never crossed your minds. All you two have  _ever_ thought of is yourselves. My upbringing was so that you two would look better, not because you wanted the best for me."

"Ra would never have intended for this lifestyle. You should get on your knees and pray for forgiveness from our god."

Yami stared blankly. "Ra? You dare to bring  _Ra_ into this?" he spat. "Ra has no bearing upon anything! And how would you know what a god wishes, mother? You are not a god, no matter how much you wish to be. Father will never make it as high as he seeks to reach because you both pretend that you know the work of a higher power when you know  _nothing_!"

He felt like he might be foaming at the mouth but it felt right and he didn't want to stop, so despite her horrified expression, like he had struck her, he continued.

"Even if Ra cared so deeply about the life of  _one_ insignificant speck on one planet in a universe compiled of trillions of other planets, what makes you think that you know the desires of a  _god_?" He shook his head and glared at her. "What happened to what you used to tell me when I was young, mother? What happened to 'No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, I will always love you, I will always protect you, and you will always be my little boy, always and forever'—what happened to that? Have I changed so much that you can't possibly love me anymore?"

This time he didn't even stagger, but she did. She fell into him and they both went to the ground on their knees. Yami wasn't sure what possessed him to stay where he was, because as much as he loved her with everything he had, he wanted away from her—so far away.

She was crying and he should have cared—and maybe in the deepest recesses of his mind, where his heart actually  _was_ breaking with the blow of it all, he truly did—but the energy was too much. He was still so, so tired…

Okay, so he hadn't expected her to look him in the eye and hand him a box of condoms and lube and tell him to go find a nice guy with her blessing, but this shit was ridiculous. What the hell was so horrible about it all?

He didn't understand it, not even after having it drilled in his head for so long.

Sure, it scared him, but he was okay. He was healthy. He was fine. He wasn't dying. Ra had not decided to kill him. Ra had done nothing to punish him—his own bad choices were his punishment… _Yugi_  was his punishment. But that was it.

What  _had_  happened to her?

To saying "No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, I will always love you, I will always protect you, and you will always be my little boy, always and forever" every night before bed? He had missed her so much in those two years he had been gone. He had stayed up his whole first month because she never said it.

Perhaps…somewhere along the line, they all changed.

And he was okay with that. He was okay with being too independent to need her words every night. And he was okay with being strong enough to actually stand up to his father at moments when he truly needed to. And he was okay with being different.

What he wasn't okay with was their acting as if he was not their son, like they didn't know him anymore, like he was a stranger, completely disposable and easy to replace.

No tears came from his eyes like he thought they might have months before.

Instead he merely hugged her tightly, didn't bother to say anything else. Didn't bother to say he loved her.

He did, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. He still loved her so much…

"You will not receive a blessing for the shame you have brought upon us."

She was sobbing into his chest but her voice was strong despite it.

He wondered where he got his strength from. His mother or his father…

"But please, don't expect any further communication with me, with your father, with us," she begged, though her voice still held that undercurrent of strength. "We will not come to visit, nor do we want you in our lives. You have made your choice—however wrong it may be. Ra did not intend for this unnatural lifestyle and if you are ever to return to Egypt…do not ever seek us out again. I wish you only the best in life."

Yami stood up first, because that was what his gut told him to do, and when he offered his hand, she took it for what they both knew would be the last time. "I understand," was all he said in response.

She took his face in her hands, held him there, stared deep into his eyes, and then turned and walked off.

Yami didn't bother to watch her departure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	16. What Are We?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter is rated MA (Mature Adult) for sexual content (lemon), homosexual slander (use of "faggot/fag"), mentions of underage alcohol consumption and mentions of masturbation as well as suicide  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "I want background noise" and continue to "So...what are we going to do now?". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to get to the second phase where the lemon is finished and continue to end of chapter.  
> Lemon Note: This lemon is SERIOUSLY major for the story. Just saying...  
> Homosexual Slander Warning: Use of word "faggot/fag" throughout second part of chapter  
> Note: The mentions of suicide are just that. Mentions. It didn't happen, but is rather just overreactions on the behalf of Yami's cousins. The mentions of underage drinking are just some insinuations on Yugi's behalf.

Chapter XVI: What Are We?

Yami spent the night on the couch after her visit. And it was odd because he had never liked the living room before but now it felt oddly liberating to be there, stretched out across the cushions, watching comedies that were not funny in any way, shape or form. The gay comedy he watched a few minutes before the animated animal film he was currently taking in was not funny by any means.

Was comedy code for fucking pathetic?

He snorted and tipped his head back, glancing at the ceiling fan thoughtfully.

He kind of wanted it on but at the same time he didn't want to pull the cord.

Laziness made him resist the urge. Laziness made him hum softly in a bored tone.

And it sure as fuck kept him away from the cord dangling over the coffee table.

Too much energy to jump on it and then have to lean up on his tiptoes.

Too much fucking energy.

Ugh, he never seemed to have enough of that anymore.

The pizza he had ordered was already devoured but he hadn't bothered to throw the box away.

Too much work to move his legs and take it into the kitchen, to put it in the trashcan. Too much fucking work.

And he felt kind of sick to his stomach now too. Because he should be mourning the loss of the two people who had been constants in his life for thirteen years, not counting the year in which he had come to Japan in the first place because it had been only a few days after his fourteenth birthday and considering his birthday was in February, it didn't constitute as a year as far as he was concerned. But he was so tired of them, so damn tired of feeling sorry for himself.

And yet that was what he was doing right that moment.

Feeling sorry for himself.

He was staying up until three in the morning watching comedies that were not funny.

He was eating pizza he had to  _bribe_ the company with a two-hundred-dollar tip to even get because they were just about to close and they didn't normally take orders at the time he called, just fifteen minutes before closing; all of them had gotten mad and he had been forced to listen to them argue with him until money proved fundamental enough a cause for them to overlook his little blunder time-wise.

He was laying on a couch with no motivation whatsoever to do anything but stare blankly at the TV which held no amusement for him in any way.

He was staring at a ceiling fan that would never work until he pulled on the damn cord.

He was doing all of these things and nothing more. He was the literal manifestation of the sin "sloth"—and who the fuck even named it that? When the teacher first mentioned sins in class freshman year, he had thought he had misspelled it or something, because surely an  _animal_  couldn't be a sin, but no, every text book had the same spelling as the one on the board.

And then he had gone on a two-week thought process about how an animal could be a sinner when all they did they were forced to do by circumstance in order to survive. No, humans could sin, because that was their nature.

Yami yawned. Even the thoughts in his head were coming out slow and boring, complete repeats.

* * *

"Atem."

The name was spoken in such a low tone that he almost missed it but the voice wasn't one of his cousins' and it sure as hell wasn't Yugi's either. Vaguely he wondered how many students had been actually listening during the "interview" in the schoolyard rather than gawking at the school "fag" being the cause of such uproar or Mai Valentine saving his ass in front of the cameras.

His eyes darted around slowly, straining for any small bit of attention of even so much as a glance granted his way, any form of acknowledgment of his presence, head spinning with possibilities, bites of thorough worry nipping at his thoughts as he struggled to think of anyone who could have said the name in passing and let someone else hear it; his cousins were careful about not saying it and Yugi didn't even truly acknowledge it, so he had no idea who it could be saying it at the moment.

"Atem."

His mind pinpointed him before his eyes did, red gaze singling in on the teal-eyed teen who smirked and winked at his horrified scowl when he took the spot next to Yugi at the lunch table, dread creeping up his spine as he wondered if it was possible that Yugi had said it at some point; had it come out unfiltered, without thought, completely unbidden, when he was having sex with Duke? He barely suppressed a wince at the thought of the two of them together, wondering vaguely what Duke had to offer that would make him even allow him to sit there, unnerved when the small teen looked towards him dismissively before the other boy whispered something in his ear to make his eyes snap to Yami's in blatant alarm and confusion when his birth name rolled off his tongue once more.

Yami ground his teeth together for a moment, eyes narrowing into slits of gleaming blood; if only they weren't so close, seated only a couple of feet away from him, the two teens watching him, one with alarm and the other with pure amusement. He would have kept walking but he was pretty sure if he had Duke would have just called out to him that much louder and Yami didn't think he could handle that at the moment.

"What, nothing to say,  _Atem_?"

His lip curled slightly, a silent snarl that he almost let out but refused to, instead standing as he was with his head raised slightly and eyes narrowed, back straight and entire demeanor full of unspoken challenge. "How do  _you_ know that name?"

"That's none of your concern," Duke purred, instead shifting his body closer to Yugi who didn't take his eyes off the other teen, that red gaze focused on the boy next to him.

He kept his eyes on the other's face, taking in the vibrant anger in his dark eyes and the way the color was slowly starting to drain in minuscule amounts as if he was slowly gaining a fever in those moments; no one had really understood what had happened that day the reporters came. Too many voices, too many whispers around them, a language they didn't understand and Yami's words too low to truly comprehend among all the others had left everyone rather in the dark about it. So how the  _fuck_ did Duke Devlin of all people know his name?

"How. Do. You. Know. That. Name?"

An arm snaked its way around his shoulders and Yugi only realized the implications after Yami's focus shifted to settle on him, eyes darkening and flashing, hardening for a split second but not before he caught the pain clearly displayed there in that moment.

"He screamed your name last night."

Last night? The tray of food Yami had been taking to his cousins hit the floor and Yugi winced at the show of hurt in that single split second window that showed all of the miserable pain he was in with that statement just before they grew hardened once more and he busied himself with collecting the fallen items at his feet. Yami felt his grip tighten on the plastic tray, grinding his teeth together; last night he'd been asleep on the couch because he couldn't find it in him to do anything else and Yugi went and fucked Duke. That was just great.

"Yeah, I thought it was a strange name to shout too," Duke mused in a snide tone, smirking at the way Yami gripped the tray harder until his knuckles looked white with the strain of force he was exerting. "I didn't know who 'Atem' was could  _possibly_ be…until I looked it up—"

"You know, Duke," Yami cut in, standing straight again and relaxing his grip some, smirking widely as the other male looked pissed that he had been cut off, "the  _only_ thing you're telling me so far is that I'm a  _far_ better fuck than you'll ever be."

Yugi choked on his laughter but went immediately silent when red eyes caught his, filmed with a thick layer of ice and a clear message that he should shut the fuck up; the smaller teen swallowed hard at the fresh pain he caught in the outer portion of his gleaming irises. Oh gods, was he really hum him that much? A small wave of guilt lapped at his insides but the flood of pain that crashed through him easily overthrew it as if it had never once existed. Seeing that weak look that marred his face but did nothing to push away his angry demeanor made Yugi's stomach twist and his heart hurt.

"Hmm, maybe," Duke commented slyly. "Or maybe you're just the only one desperate enough to fuck him so often that he actually  _knows_ your name."

The tray fell again but this time it smacked against the tabletop, vibrating with the force of impact.

"If you wanted my attention—"

"I've had your attention since the day Yugi and I fucked," Duke spat. "And don't even  _pretend_ otherwise."

Yami barely managed to fight back his flinch; Yugi wasn't denying it. Why wasn't he denying it?

Yugi honestly had to wonder about that himself. It wasn't true. And Yugi didn't  _want_ to hurt him. So why  _was_ he?

Was it because he  _liked_ seeing his effect on Yami, seeing the way that he really did seem to love him? Or was it the idea that Yami just  _might_ damn well fight for him where he usually ran away?

Yugi wasn't exactly sure what he would if he did fight for him here and now, but he had to wonder if maybe it would help him. Make him  _face_ his  _own_ feelings. Make him actually  _acknowledge_ them because he wasn't so stupid as to think this was nothing but an infatuation anymore, that there wasn't something  _more_  than the sexual tension that existed between them, that he  _didn't_  ache when he ignored him or he hurt him indirectly with his poor choices.

"It couldn't have been that great," Yami hissed, narrowing his eyes, "or else he wouldn't have kicked you around so much afterwards."

"Who says—?" Duke started in a sneer.

"As you said,  _I_ 'm the one desperate enough to keep going back. You think I don't  _know_ how he gets? And it  _looks_ like he beat you to a pulp so I think it's  _safe_ to say he didn't enjoy it much, Duke."

Yugi almost asked what the fuck he meant when he said "You think I don't  _know_ how he gets?" but his stomach twisted at the idea of having those dark red eyes narrowed and glaring at him like he remembered from the last time they were together. And besides that, the words weren't all that surprising anymore now that he truly thought about it. Yami actually  _did_ know him. More than just the physical sense. Maybe not completely but he did know him enough that it didn't  _feel_ like he was with a stranger when they were together, when they kissed and messed around under the sheets. He knew the bare minimum but he was proving himself a quick study, someone smart enough to give him the pushes he needed—physically, figuratively…and he  _did_ know how to deal with him, how to talk  _to_ him and not  _at_ him like most people tended to. He didn't constantly push and he respected the unspoken boundaries he had.

"Funny, Atem"—he smirked when the other male ground his teeth together visibly—"because he said no one had ever managed to make him scream before."

"Are you  _sure_ it wasn't out of frustration?" Yami asked, tipping his head to the side and smirk. "Because your dick was so small he couldn't even  _feel_ it?"

Yugi snickered softly, covering his mouth and watching the red-eyed teen in pure amusement; he had to admit that if he  _did_ scream it probably  _would_ be out of frustration rather than pleasure. But mostly he was laughing at the way the word "dick" rolled off his tongue, slightly awkward and somewhat strained with the lilt of his accent, Arabic nearly coming out of his mouth for that split second.

"And I suppose that's why he was saying your name, huh?"

"Maybe you didn't catch the first part. Sounds like 'I want' followed by my name."

Ooh, he was getting frustrated and feisty. Yugi nearly purred as he leaned forward to press his elbow against the tabletop, a smirk tugging at his lips; a feisty hotheaded Yami was  _undeniably_ sexy.

"Do you even know what a slut  _is_  Atem?"

"Well, obviously. He's  _my_ slut after all!" Yami spat in pure frustration, his mind so caught up in the verbal spat that it took him a few long seconds to catch up with the words that had come out of his mouth; he blinked once, a drawn out motion as they registered and his head snapped towards Yugi, red eyes widening drastically, an apologetic gleam to the startled gaze only to find that Yugi was laughing so hard he was about to fall out of his seat.

"So you admit that he's a slut," Duke snickered, studying the wide-eyed Egyptian who watched Yugi fall out of his seat and curl up on his side, still cracking up.

" _My_ slut!" Yami blurted out harshly before he could stop himself, a small blush starting to stain his cheeks as he cursed himself mentally; Yugi wasn't his, something that he had made  _abundantly_ clear. But Yugi wasn't arguing and now he was starting to feel a little sick, mind and pulse racing, struggling to truly keep grasp of the situation. Some kind of small bite of panic that was all too familiar to him made his spine go rigid but the more abundant frustration and arrogance was steadily forcing it away again.

"Such a  _high_ endearment,  _pharaoh_ ," Duke sneered.

"At least he's not a piece of trash like you," Yami snarled.

"Right, because the piece of trash in this situation is obviously me, huh, fag?"

"You're the one whose been bragging about fucking another guy. You're  _just_ as much of a fag as I am."

"Wrong."

"Oh? Explain that to me, Duke because I'm honestly lost here."

"Doesn't take much,  _does_  it?"

"Weak."

"Yet another great adjective to describe yourself with, huh, Atem?"

"My  _name_ is Yami."

"Not according to  _your parents_ ," Duke sneered just as Yugi got back in his seat, laughter immediately gone as his face paled and his eyes darted towards Yami, horrified by the statement; surely they hadn't disowned him, right? There was no way. His mother had to have done something to stop that, right? "Oh  _wait_ , that's  _right_. They're  _not_ your parents anymore now,  _are_ they?"

Yugi didn't believe that. There was no way. His mom had to have done something. His father might have disowned him but surely his mother wouldn't let it stay that way. Surely she would have talked to him, showed him that homosexuality wasn't a crime, gotten Yami back into the family…right?

Yami remained completely frozen for a moment before slowly leaning against the table, fingers curling and nails making a sharp screeching noise with the movement. "You don't  _want_ to start a war with  _me_ , Duke," he hissed softly, eyes narrowing into slits. "I'm known for conquering, not cowering."

The retort he had on the tip of his tongue died immediately, teal eyes widening as shock and fear crept down his spine; red eyes sparked with abundant warning, power, keen intelligence and maliciousness and the sorter teen only pulled away a long minute and a half later, smirking as the small bit of dark gray in his irises started to leave and he went to sit with his cousins who awkwardly smiled in greeting.

Duke left a moment later, glowering and huffing, and Yugi bit his lip as he looked over at the other teen. He really needed to talk to Yami. But not then. Maybe the weekend, when he wasn't so fired up and had more time to cool down. Three days. Three days to find the words he needed to talk to him.

Just three days.

He swallowed hard and wondered if he could honestly make it that long.

* * *

He spent the three days watching Yami like a hawk; the other teen refused to look in his direction most of the time but he knew without having to look that the red eyes would take in his every detail when he so much as looked unhappy. And he was getting  _very_ unhappy.

Impatience drove him insane, he wanted to talk to the other teen like a cancer patient wanted to get rid of their disease, Duke constantly sat next to him at lunch and he always had to get up and leave in order to  _try_ to make it clear to the red-eyed teen that there was nothing happening between them.

But of course Yami was not one to be so easily or so  _quickly_  mollified, instead watching him—he  _knew_ —with dark eyes, interest and ferocity linger in his gaze. He didn't approach him, had yet to comment on the way that the moment Duke sat next to him he was on his feet and across the room, and he definitely had failed to speak about or to him, instead ignoring him pointedly aside from stares that lingered on his skin like leeches.

The one time it looked like he was even considering speaking to him, Yami had been staring at him all day, not even bothering for subtlety when he saw how frustrated Yugi was, but the moment he looked about ready to get up and go over to him, Duke had gotten over to his side. The two idiots had taken up a staring match as if he were a carcass that two wolves were about to fight over, glares that made him sigh in frustration.

But maybe it was for the best because he had no idea what he was going to say to the red-eyed teen in the first place, even after spending almost every waking moment trying to figure something out, working to find something that didn't make him feel like a complete and utter douche.

* * *

Yugi kind of froze when he stepped into the room. There was a strange odor in the air that smelled vaguely like…creamer maybe? He shook his head and then wandered closer before stopping and glaring.

Yami was passed out on the couch, half draped over it with his face half in the cushion and half falling off, right hand laying on the table right beside a rather fancy looking wine bottle.

Oh, no, it was  _champagne_ —a very  _expensive-as-fuck_ champagne.

Yugi shook his head and sighed before pinching Yami's side.

The taller male recoiled like he had struck him, backing up into the furthest spot he could reach in his awkward sleep-induced haze, eyes wide as he looked him over before letting out a huff of a breath and curling up again.

"Yami—"

"Go away, Yugi. I'm tired."

"Yeah, that kind of happens when you fucking drink all night." Yugi glared at the champagne bottle; this wasn't how he had wanted to find the other teen. Especially since he was pretty sure Yami was still on medication for his pain and it was common sense that pain medication shouldn't be taken with  _alcohol_. What was so fucking wrong with water? Why couldn't Yami just fucking  _drink water_ like a  _normal_ person? He bit back a snicker at the irony of that thought, still scowling at the bottle as if it was offensive. "Who the fuck does this anyways? This shit is for  _celebrations_  not fucking…depressing shit-fests of—is that supposed to be a joke? Because I don't find it funny at all. That's supposed to be common sense."

Yami turned his head away and bunched his body up so that his elbows and knees were drawn up under his stomach, curled into a ball with his face turned away into the backrest, obviously trying to get his ears away from Yugi's voice.

He leaned forward and lowered his mouth near his ear, saying, "What the actual  _fuck_ Yami?"

The taller boy reached up and touched his chin before moving his fingers up the side of his face, drawing burning hot lines that made Yugi want to moan, trailing down the center of his nose before his forefinger and thumb plugged his nostrils together. "Ssh."

Yugi burst out laughing and pulled his hand away by the wrist. "That's not how you make someone shut up. You keep their mouths shut."

"I don't have any duct tape right now."

The smaller boy smiled and poked him in the side, earning him a startled jump and wide eyes before the red gaze narrowed into a glare.

"Go away."

"No. You have a problem. Well, shit, that has to be the most obvious thing in the world—drinking  _champagne_ to get drunk."

"Huh?" Yami muttered, blinking wide eyes.

"Did you run out of the  _good_ stuff or something, Yami? I mean, honestly, you don't just fucking grab the first bottle you set your sights on. You get the stuff that you  _know_ will get you good and hammered. It's that simple. I don't know why you haven't learned this stuff by now. It's the  _heavy_ stuff that will get you somewhere," he sneered, his concern making him nasty and rude as he turned a glare on him, feeling a slight sting of guilt at the development but unable to stop himself from being completely pissed off like this.

Yami blinked again and then started to sit up. "I'm not drunk."

"Well, obviously not now. You slept it off, idiot. But that probably isn't much of a hangover is it?" he murmured, taking a seat on the coffee table and crossing his legs, kicking his right thoughtfully, anger blending curiously with wondering amusement. "I mean, it can't be much of one, right? It was champagne after all and you drink fancy wines and I'm pretty sure champagne falls in that category so…unless of course you mixed it. Did you mix it?"

Yami opened his mouth.

"Then again, if you mixed it, I would like to see the recipe you cooked up. You were passed out like you had a wild night and someone just dumped you there." He paused and then gave him a grin that put the Cheshire cat to shame. "Is that what happened? Did you get too plastered to even give directions to my house? So they found your house by your ID or whatever and dumped you here? That would be one hell of a story to tell others."

Yami opened his mouth again.

"You know, for an intervention, this is a pretty fucked up turnabout. I mean, shit, Yami, you couldn't get others to come besides your fuck buddy who you haven't fucked for two weeks now?" Yugi complained, looking at the champagne bottle and curling his lip. "I should get you tested for STDs. Cause if you were so hammered that they just dropped you here, who  _knows_ who you fucked in the meantime?"

The taller boy blinked and opened his mouth again.

"You know, if you caught something, I'm not fucking you anymore. I mean, shit, my penis is a  _prize_. I can't just have you hopping on it and infecting the shit. No, the merchandise must be  _contained_." He hummed and looked up at the ceiling before focusing on him again; half of him actually wished that Yami might have one  _just_ so that he would have a reason to stop feeling something for him. It was cruel but he was aware of his limitations and being with someone who had an STD was pushing them so hard that it was impossible to truly consider in the first place. "And, oh, by the way, even if it's some of that crap that actually  _can_ go away with medication, your dick and me? No relationship. I refuse."

The taller boy shook his head and opened his mouth again.

"Anyways, so, I was thinking that we would talk about our fucking arrangements but this shit…wow, Yami, you have outdone yourself. I mean…shit, it almost looks like you understand what I'm saying and everything."

"I do understand what you're—"

"You know, actually, an intervention between two people might not be such a bad idea. If you hit me, I'll hit you back, that kind of thing…but the rest of them always have everyone else around so that if a fight  _does_ break out their wimp asses can gang up on you and separate you before things get bad…" Yugi held up his fists and narrowed his eyes. "Come on, Yami, put them up. I'll kick you ass."

Yami gave him a horribly confused look, glanced at the champagne bottle, looked back and then grabbed it and shoved it into his face. "Smell."

Yugi shoved it away. "What the fuck? I don't want to smell it. What did you—?  _Please_ tell me you weren't on something else and like…fucked a bottle or something…" He looked the opening over. "No, that would be too small for your dick to get in…not too small an opening for you to masturbate into, though…"

At the horrified expression on his face, Yugi laughed but then the bottle was shoved at him again. "Yugi, just fucking smell it."

"No. What the fuck did you do to it? I'm not putting my nose anywhere  _near_ where you've masturbated. I'll take it up the ass but seriously? This is kinky shit I won't get into."

Yami rolled his eyes. "For fuck's sake, Yugi"—the smaller teen opened his mouth to say something further but the taller teen shot forward suddenly and grabbed him, shoving the bottle under his nose and making him sniff.

"Oh…is that coffee?" he muttered, pushing it away and wrinkling his nose.

"It is," Yami agreed, pulling the bottle into his lap and starting to tear at the sticker on it. "I dumped out the champagne—it was one of the ones my father bought as a peace offering in order to make me drop the lawsuit against him. I was looking at it last night and I was  _going_ to drink it but then I just got really fucking  _pissed_  so I poured it down the drain and I couldn't sleep and I liked the bottle so I started messing around and then I remembered that caffeine has the opposite effect on me so then it became apparent that while I wanted something to drink out of the bottle, coffee would suit me better because it puts me to sleep. But yeah, I really like the glass. I mean, look at the bottle. I like its shape…"

"Oh…well what the fuck?"

"I don't know. I got bored. I have to have something to keep me occupied before I can fall asleep."

"No, I mean—coffee puts you to  _sleep_?" he muttered, eyes wide.

"Yes."

"So then…what the fuck do you use for hangovers?"

Yami blushed and ducked his head. "Warm milk and honey."

Yugi balked and then burst out laughing. "No shit. Are you being serious?"

Yami nodded, blushing harder. "I do, it's the only thing that gets rid of my headaches. It's been a remedy since I was younger."

"Headaches? I'm talking about…wait, what do you mean headaches?"

Yami fiddled with the top of the bottle, tapping his fingers against the glass and looking down at the sloshing black liquid at the bottom. "I guess my father got a little…smother-happy one night because I started having seizures at some point when I was six. And afterwards, things just got worse. I started getting chronic migraines for weeks on end. They're rather crippling, in all honesty. I can't move to save my life. My father always found them weak, but whatever."

"Why do you keep calling him that?"

"Calling him what?"

"Father? Instead of dad or something…"

"I…used to get punished if I didn't call him father. Anything less and he'd whip me until I was bleeding," he murmured, shrugging. "I can't just lose the habit out of nowhere. Plus, I have to keep going with it just in case…"

"In case what?"

Yami shrugged again. "I don't know. But what I do know is that I am not going to call him regular old 'dad' anytime soon." He paused. "So what are you doing here? And how did you even get in here?"

"I ran into Bakura as he was leaving. He left the key under the tree roots over there and I grabbed it and came inside. I was wondering what the fuck he was doing if you were passed out like this."

He opened his mouth and then closed it again with a muttered, "I'm on suicide watch."

"What?" Yugi demanded a little sharply, eyes wide.

He shrugged halfheartedly and put the bottle back on the table next to him, watching as Yugi unconsciously moved it a little farther away as if he was worried Yami might somehow figure out to turn the coffee back into champagne and go on a drinking binge. "I have been for a while now."

"Seriously? I didn't think I fucked you over that badly…"

Yugi sounded fucking  _awed_ and Yami resisted the urge to punch him, frustrated by the emotion in his voice and feeling the need to protect himself from it.

"No, you didn't. It's been like this for far longer. Since…since before I told you that I…" He didn't complete that statement but realization dawned in those bright blue-violet eyes. "That's why Bakura and Malik started making sure I sat with them every day at lunch and why Bakura called when we were about to fuck. It…um…they're all doing it. Seto even has Mokuba calling when he can't call me himself. Mokuba doesn't know why he has to but Seto says it's important so he does it."

"But if he saw you passed out—"

"He probably did the same as you and assumed I was drunk and sleeping it off. All he would need to do is check my pulse or watch my breathing for a few minutes. They might be crazy but they aren't stupid. They know how to take care of someone who's plastered. Fuck, I think maybe even Mokuba knows that."

Yugi didn't comment that it was crazy for an eight-year-old to know that but Yami could see it in his eyes and ignored it completely.

"Either way, the point is, the reason he was here was probably because of that. It's not at all surprising," he murmured, grabbing the remote next to Yugi's hip and hand, his wrist accidentally brushing the soft skin and making Yugi's mouth open slightly before his tongue poked out to wet his warm, soft lips. Yami ignored this display pointedly.

"Bakura was on the phone when he was leaving…He said it wasn't surprising you were taking it so bad. What did that mean exactly? Was he talking about us or…?"

"They don't even know about  _us,_ " Yami spat, "because there is no  _us_. There is Yami and there is Yugi. There is no Yami  _and_ Yugi. There is nothing between us to merit them being concerned. As far as they know, I fucked you two weeks ago and I haven't gotten horny enough to invite you over again."

Yugi blinked wide eyes.

"No, what he  _meant_ is that my mother came over four days ago," he snapped, grabbing the bottle and then heading into the kitchen, dumping the dark brown-black liquid down the sink with a frown as he noticed the empty carton of creamer on the counter next to a massive bag of white sugar.

He never really was one for black coffee but he could have at least  _tried_ to put them back before he passed out. He wouldn't be surprised to find bugs in there considering the luck he'd been having recently. Yami peered inside, shaking the bag slightly so that the grains shifted some to allow him to see that there was nothing too out of place inside. _  
_

He snorted, dumping the empty carton in the trash and simply rolling the top of the sugar's bag to close it, not bothering with further inspection; he would do that some other time, preferably when his mind was actually working at one hundred percent and Yugi _wasn't_ around.

"Oh really?" He sat up a little straighter, eyes wide and searching as they sought his out upon his return to the living room. "What did she have to say?"

"What else could she possibly want, Yugi? She came to disown me permanently."

"What?" Yugi recoiled, eyes wide; Duke's low blow in the cafeteria had been true? He had honestly been hoping that he had just been saying it like that because he was trying to make his father's rejection that much worse. "N-no way. You can't be serious…"

"I am dead serious," he responded with a small shrug. "Father was here and I suppose she came with him. He must have given her the address because she showed up here and spoke to me."

"…What did she say exactly? I mean—a-are you okay or—?"

"I am fine."

And he was.

He was fine.

Not because he  _had_ to be, but because he  _was._

And he had no explanation for it, but sometimes that was how life worked.

Maybe he had just outgrown them. Maybe his love had turned into bitter resentment at some point. Maybe he just…didn't care for their company anymore. Maybe he just no longer wished for the life they tried to present him with. Or maybe…he was just fine because he just  _was_.

Maybe it was that simple.

Or maybe it was so much more complex than he could ever imagine.

The point was, he was fine.

"Really?"

Yami nodded once and then climbed over the back of the couch, twisted his body and fell, rolling through the air for a split second before landing on his back and looking at him from the soft cushions.

"You don't…want to talk about it or something?"

He couldn't help the scoff. "Why would I want to talk about it with you? You said it yourself. This is only meant to be fun. I should never have said it. I should not have grown attached. And you were right. So please, don't pretend like you give a fuck now, Yugi. Keep those fucking ice walls around you and don't pretend to defrost on my account."

Yugi was silent for a moment and then he looked away; after all those hours of trying to find the words he needed, he had failed hopelessly. It was too hard trying to calculate his reactions to his words and every time he tried it just seemed … _wrong_. "Yami, I…um…I think…I'm confused."

Yami did not mention that this whole thing of keeping the walls up included telling him about his problems, included him trying to bring him back in like a fish on a hook.

"I think I might…I think I might love you too. But I don't really know." He licked his lips, honestly plain ashamed that he couldn't meet his eyes like he wished he could; half of him was afraid that Yami was going to take it back as soon as the words left his mouth and the other half was trembling with the idea that the other teen would leave him in the dark if he said the words he knew he was craving. "I don't know how to describe it. And I don't know if it's just lust or not. I…I think about you a lot, but that could just be because…"

Yami nodded once even though his statement went unfinished.

"I think you were right when you said you didn't think I knew what love was either. Maybe I don't…but how can I if I don't know what it  _feels_ like?" Yugi bit his lip hard and then looked deep into his eyes, searching for something, dying to uncover something that Yami couldn't give him, wouldn't give him, because he didn't know what it was or how to offer it to him. "I want to see…if it's just lust. Because if it is…then it solves everything…r-right?"

Yami blinked once. "You wish to sleep with me? To see if it feels the same as all the other times?"

Yugi nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Yami did not mention how cruel a joke this seemed to be. He did not tell him that he shouldn't have said he thought he loved him just so that he could fuck him. Instead he stared silently, because if he opened his mouth, he thought he might end up trying to talk sense into him and at the moment, he didn't want that.

He wanted to pretend. He wanted to pretend that even for the next few moments, no matter how false, no matter how small and untrue, Yugi did love him back.

Because the words…they sounded almost real.

They sounded like he could twist them in his head and  _make_ them real.

So he didn't say anything.

Because sometimes pretending was better than reality.

Because he  _hated_ his reality.

"You don't…have to…"

Yami did a good job of not mentioning that the thought of fucking someone that Duke Devlin had fucked made his stomach churn. And he did a good job of not letting the images that sprang into his mind of the two cloud his judgment. And he did a good job of not letting his emotions rush through him as he stared back at him silently, contemplatively, not bothering to truly speak as he looked him over.

Just as Yugi did a good job of avoiding the subject altogether.

"Please?"

Yami stared for a long time and then slowly glanced at the TV and back. "Can I at least put that back on?" he muttered, watching the black screen for a moment before turning back. "I want background noise."

He neglected to add  _It makes me feel less lonely_ out loud.

Yugi gave him an odd look, twisted around to look at the screen, and then slowly turned his attention back to him, raising an eyebrow uncertainly. "I guess…"

He didn't give him enough time to question it, instead pressing the power button and then murmuring, "Go upstairs and grab a couple of condoms from the box upstairs. They're in the drawer of the nightstand on the right with the lamp. Top drawer. I think there might be lube or lotion or something in there. I don't know. Bakura decided to get it for me because he didn't want me 'hurting myself' trying to jack off while I still had the brace on."

Yugi burst out laughing at him and Yami flipped him off, but the smaller teen took off upstairs and the time that it would take for him to get the things would give him enough time to think straight.

This was going to help no one.

But that didn't really matter to him, not at the moment anyways. No, what really mattered was the small idea that was forming in the back of his mind now. It made his skin prickle and his stomach twist and his tongue dry and his heart hurt.

He turned his head and listened for Yugi's footsteps but the smaller teen was not coming just yet; that was just as well, because if Yami was right—and he was going to test this out if it was the last thing he did—he felt he needed the time to prepare for that possibility.

He took a deep breath, tilted his head to the side, told himself that it would be fine, shook his head when he started to picture Duke and Yugi fucking, and then forced every single bone in his body to relax for a moment.

And it worked.

When Yugi got back down there, Yami was ready.

The smaller boy handed him the condoms and bottle, frowning a little as he muttered, "What are you going to…? I get the condoms, I mean, that will keep the couch clean, but what about the lube? What is that for?"

"I want to try it out. I want to see if it feels any different than dry does."

That was such a stupid explanation. He would have more of a chance convincing Bugs Bunny to get in the fucking pot and stay there than he did making Yugi believe that, because the look he gave him said he was dubious of this reason,  _extremely_ , but he didn't argue and that was the first thing that made alarms go off in the taller boy's head.

"Sure, I guess," he muttered, shrugging. "Whatever."

Yami didn't realize how much this was going to hurt in the long run. He had just thought that maybe…if he was just wrong…

But so far, it wasn't looking like he was.

"Go ahead and get your clothes off. I'm going to see how the fuck you use this. Bakura said something about it heating up when you blow on it or something?"

Yugi didn't mention how ridiculous that was considering it was going up his ass and he couldn't exactly see Yami leaning down with his face between his legs and blowing on his butt to see if it worked. Even Yami wasn't that crazy.

He rolled his eyes, a little miffed by the fact that Yami was not kissing him, but when he saw the way the other boy was studying the bottle, reading it and looking it over, honestly staring at it, he decided that it was another whatever thing and instead started stripping as Yami had instructed.

And then he felt weird because all these times they had made out and gotten the clothes off each other outside of their last time but this was different. Yami wasn't stressed out. He was relaxed and reading a stupid bottle. He wasn't screaming at his cousin to call him back some other time because he was about to fuck him.

No, none of that was going on.

So why the fuck did he have to take his own clothes off? He was starting to feel like some kind of whore Yami had paid money to fuck…

Regardless, he dropped his boxers and jeans on the floor and watched as Yami started to strip of his own clothing before very slowly spilling some of the lubricant onto his fingers and looking it over; he thought that maybe the taller boy might have even sniffed it at one point, but then he realized that the scent of it was strong, like licorice.

Yami groaned and shook his head. "Fucking Bakura."

"What the fuck?" Yugi muttered. "He bought you licorice-scented  _lubricant_?"

"Technically, it's for masturbation, so I guess he was just trying to get me a nicely scented thing—like lotion, but I hate licorice. He fucking did this on purpose," Yami hissed. "He knew I wasn't going to ever use it for that."

Yugi snorted. No, instead he was going to use it on him…

Yugi was a little disappointed and definitely squirming when Yami pressed a lubed finger inside of him, looking a little unhappy himself but not bothering to speak his mind about it; all throughout the time that he inserted his fingers, pumped and stretched him out, he had that same look on his face and Yugi didn't understand it and it kind of pissed him off but at the same time he felt odd at the strange sense of rejection the back of his mind brought forth.

Lubricant and condoms…

They'd never used them before.

Using them now instead of going dry…felt a little like an insult. Like Yami was saying something without actual words.

But that thought was killed before it truly formed because Yami rolled him under him, pressing against him fully with a somewhat blank look to his eyes as he held the majority of his weight off the other boy. Yugi wasn't even sure when Yami had gone about rolling a condom on with the lubricant, but it was there. He felt it when the sickening cool substance entered him and he couldn't feel Yami completely.

It was cold, so much colder than Yami ever could have hoped to be, and it felt weird, slippery, odd, a little disgusting in all honesty. He liked dry much better, where he could actually feel Yami moving in and other of him without a single barrier…

And now he was being the bitch.

First he called Yami a bitch when they fucked the first time when Yami was sober and now he was being a fucking bitch because they weren't fucking dry.

Yami closed his eyes and buried his face into his neck, began a slow thrusting rhythm that sped up gradually but didn't really hold anything in it. The boy inside of him seemed lost in his own head so it was really like being fucked by some kind of puppet or a robot…or something lifeless like that.

And then, suddenly, he just stopped and Yugi froze, worried about him, but startled when he pulled his head back and looked at him curiously for a moment, propping his elbow next to Yugi's shoulders, red eyes burning as they stared into his.

"Just kidding," he announced, smirking and winking, but there was something in his eyes that said he was disappointed; most likely, Yugi realized slowly, that he had not attempted to snap him out of this imaginary stupor or…the smaller teen felt incredibly stupid now, recognizing the disappointment in his gaze as the same he had seen in his own when he looked in the mirror after they had first fucked. He was disappointed that Yugi hadn't stopped him. Had just let him have his body like this. "So, anyways, if you want to see if you…feel the same, how do you want this?"

Yugi blinked. "What do you mean?" he asked in pure confusion, still reeling from the blow he had just delivered himself by studying the other teen's face.

"I mean, do you want me to…um…make love to you"—Yugi felt his eyes stretch wide and his mouth open and close the tiniest bit as he blinked a few times—"or are we just fucking again?"

"Uh…what…what's the difference…? It's all just…sex right? I mean…" He offered a small strained half-assed smile that looked more like a grimace. He honestly never had understood why they called sex so many things—shacking up, fucking, having sex, sleeping together, fooling around, hooking up…making love. It never made sense to him.

Yami blinked and then turned his face towards the TV for a moment, seeming to actually watch, and then slowly turned back just as Yugi was about to snap that he was beneath him, not on the TV screen. "There's a difference. Fucking is…what we've been doing. And…making love is what I did that night…" He looked away and leaned a little to look at the floor beside the couch, suddenly reaching down and pulling a penny off the ground, smirking at the shiny copper coin before putting it on the table. "Anyways, the night I was drunk as all fuck and told you I loved you."

Yugi blinked a few times. Making love…that was practically what Yami was doing when he…seemed to be worshipping him? A cold chill of fear wrapped itself around him and centered in his chest for a long minute and he couldn't fight this one off like he had all the rest before; the three seconds of letting it control him wouldn't work.

He was staring up at a pair of red eyes that watched without a single hesitation, unblinking and searching for whatever it was that Yugi wanted from him but finding no answer because he didn't have one for him.

"Let's put it this way. Would you like to be pounded into the couch or would you like to go slow?" Yami stated after a few minutes of Yugi staring at him with that wide-eyed, fearful look.

"I…I…um…t-the s-second one?" he managed to stammer out, confused and feeling sick to his stomach for a moment.

He honestly had no idea if he could handle Yami as he had been that night.

Ha, but then again, the boy was already inside him so odds of him pulling out to kiss him all over like he had then were slim to none.

But the thought of that died away just as fast as he had initially been able to conjure it up when Yami pulled away and out of him abruptly, rolling them over so that Yugi straddled him.

"Um…what are we doing?"

"You're going to top," the red-eyed boy announced.

"I…what?"

Yami nodded easily and hummed once. "You can take the condom off if you want. I mean…you are still clean, right?"

"I—y-yeah."

"Then go ahead."

Yugi bit his lip and stared for a long time. He actually semi-expected Yami to lose his patience, but again, the red-eyed boy proved to have rather endless patience for him, watching him curiously for a minute before craning his neck and closing his eyes, the act not only merely giving him some of the privacy that he had not consciously known he desired but also giving him a place to start.

His lip was trembling and his muscles were twitching beneath his jaw, fingers shaking slightly as he licked the dry flesh and slowly lowered his mouth to the golden-bronze skin of his arched neck. And he knew Yami could feel that persistent tremble of his lip but he didn't comment and the fact that he let it go without an issue was amazing by all means as far as he was concerned.

And god, if he didn't need that little bit of reassurance Yami wouldn't make fun of his current fear. Not that he wouldn't understand if Yami  _did_ tease him about it. It wasn't common that you had the self-proclaimed "slut" kissing your neck with such fear that it made their lips tremble against your skin.

But he was so lost. What else was he supposed to do?

Of course he had topped before, not as many times as Yami had, but he still had and it was annoying how scary the concept of actually acknowledging if he  _could_ love the red-eyed teen truly was.

His heart twisted with the irony of it all.

How scared had Yami had to have been to have to get drunk  _just_ to tell him he loved him? And how scared had he been to have had to actually acknowledge the feelings himself? How hard must it have been for him to actually turn around and tell Yugi and then face his parents after?

In comparison it seemed minuscule, but Yugi had made himself into the bad boy for this very reason—so that no one would actually  _fall in love_ with him.

And yet, for whatever reason, Yami had done just that.

And he honestly couldn't understand how he could love him when he was so nasty towards him and all they did was fight half the time, hurt each other. But he knew for a fact that Yami was hardly the masochistic type. Because if he was, he wouldn't fight back and he would take it lying down and he wouldn't have attacked Ushio in the bathroom as he did before. And…his parents would have known far before now. Far before the picture even got out. Before Yami said he loved him.

Hands lightly reached up and grasped at his shoulders, the pads of two warm thumbs rubbing gently at his overheated skin. He almost wanted to thank him for trying to make it easier for him, but his mouth felt funny even though he couldn't find the strength to form the words in his head.

"Um…"

Yami opened his eyes into slits and stared at the fuzzy headrest for a moment before trying to focus on the boy who currently had his face hidden in the groove of his neck, mumbling against his skin. His fingers sought out maps of flesh his mind knew but had never truly traveled before.

"What is it?"

"Err…what do I do now?"

For a moment both of them suspected that the words out of his mouth next would be a bite at his former experiences of topping, but thankfully it never came.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. What do I do now?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're the one who actually…d-did it before."

"Do I detect a  _tremor_?" he teased.

"Fuck off."

Yami chuckled and rubbed soothing patterns on his shoulders again, humming once. "Yugi, I'm pretty sure I was shit-faced when I did that."

Yugi laughed against his skin. "Yeah, definitely."

"Then you shouldn't really be asking  _me_ about that."

"And you really shouldn't be letting me do this."

Yami didn't argue with this, because they both knew he really shouldn't have.

"Do what you think is right. It's not that hard. Just…do what you normally do."

"But you said there was a difference."

"And there is."

"Then why would I do what I normally do?"

"Yugi, you're thinking too hard. You know what to do. You're just scared right now."

Yugi barked out a laugh, because honestly, when  _wasn't_ he scared? When wasn't he trying to force away some kind of fear in order to do something for himself to get attention or just allow him to get through the day unscathed? When didn't his spine tingle with something cold and gripping that left his mind stuttering?

"You know," he said, smirking smugly as he raised his head and looked at the slits of gleaming red that slowly widened and gazed back into his with the turn of his head, "I'm going to be braver than you because I'm not drunk off my ass in order to do it."

Yami laughed and nodded. "That you are. So then do it, Yugi. Prove that you're stronger than me."

He swallowed once and then narrowed his eyes. "Okay. You're on."

And Yugi knew from instinct that Yami recognized that he was only saying this because he needed a little more incentive than just some kind of…self-discovery.

His stomach jumped once before he managed to push the uneasy fear aside and lower his mouth to Yami's neck again, breathing once and then twice. He could do this. This was simple.

Yami had done it. Yugi could do it too.

Besides, he would do it  _better_ than Yami because he would be sober.

Yep.

"Just relax."

Yugi huffed against his neck and then both of them laughed at the odd sensation of his breath warming their skin in the way it did; Yami's fingers began working at his skin again, rubbing gently, warmly, his movements soothing and kind in nature and eventually allowing his muscles to start unlocking from where they had seized up.

The fear lingered beneath his skin but a strange calm had settled over him slowly as he mapped a small path down to his collarbone and sucked gently at a spot just about his pressure point. Yami shifted beneath him, his grip on his shoulders tightening momentarily before softening again as he moved some to accommodate the twist of the taller teen beneath him.

His leg fell over Yami's inner thigh, his knee biting into his skin slightly, but it was okay for the most part, so the red-eyed boy didn't mention it and Yugi didn't really think much of it as he trailed his tongue down to Yami's nipples.

Where Yami had nuzzled his shirt up to his choker and kissed his skin, Yugi took one of them into his mouth experimentally, running his tongue over the surface of it, wrinkling his nose slightly at the taste of salt that Yami's skin possessed. Again the taller teen twisted beneath him, arching into his mouth, and Yugi wrinkled his nose further before licking at the second nipple and then nipping it gently, once again a little surprised by the salty taste.

"Um…Yugi?"

It was so quiet he barely heard it, and though he didn't  _want_ to lift his mouth from his chest, the smaller boy raised his head slightly.

"Yeah?"

"Could you move your leg? You're kind of cutting off my circulation. I'm getting a serious cramp."

Yugi laughed and twisted, pulling his left leg away from where it was pressed in Yami's upper thigh. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Just keep going."

Yugi would have kept going even without instruction, rolling his eyes before cautiously trailing kisses down his chest to his stomach where he licked and blew on the skin, making Yami moan and let out a soft growl of a sound at the sensation. He smirked against his skin for a moment before kissing at his ribcage, unconsciously lingering on the two that the fall down the stairs had broken, his thumb working against the skin above the former fracture.

Yami let out a soft breath as if he too realized this and the fact made him nervous, but Yugi gave him the courtesy of not commenting as he had done for him before. But Yugi could literally feel Yami's blood pumping through his veins even as he pulled his lips away from his skin, because it had fluttered beneath his touch when he kissed that spot of skin. And oh how he was enjoying the way Yami was moaning and—he realized belatedly—whispering under his breath words that Yugi couldn't quite decipher.

When he got to his hips, he was a little confused as to what to do next, because honestly, that far had not truly occurred to him before this moment. But while his brain tried to over-analyze it, his body had other plans, kissing his left hip and his right, trailing them down to his erection before kissing down the insides of his thighs, completely bypassing it before gripping his hips.

Yami blinked and raised his head and Yugi was well aware of him watching but he didn't stop from staring at his erection for a moment before taking his hand away to press the tip of his finger inside of him.

When he looked up again, his eyes settled on Yami's mouth, leaning forward to brace himself on his left hand as his desires led him to press his mouth against the taller boy's, lips moving languorously together before he caught his bottom lip between his and sucked languidly, tugging at it slightly with his teeth.

He had never tried this before, but he was kissing him in a way he had seen once on TV before, his lips working leisurely but forcefully with Yami's; he opened his eyes briefly in order to watch his face as he kissed him, to ingrain the memory deep in his brain, only to be startled to find that the glassy blood-like gaze was already staring right back at him, gleaming and glinting beneath the partial hood of his eyelids. He was further surprised when Yami reached up and grabbed his hair tightly for a moment before relaxing his grip, their mouths still working against each other in that simple slow pace, nothing like the frantic way that they had been kissing previously. Because now, somehow, despite it all, it was ten times more fervent. And there was a feeling of deep  _need_ in the kiss, concentrated and pouring out into each lingering movement of their mouths.

It was mind-blowing and still so terribly erotic.

Yugi wanted so much more.

So much more of this feeling.

So much more of their delicious friction…

He ground into him harder, pressing against him and watching as his eyes narrowed, feeling his mouth move to meet his quickened pace, their tongues—one tasting of dark chocolate and an icy mint so harsh that it sent streams of chill through his body, the other of warmth like melted vanilla ice cream and something akin to caramel—battling a simple battle of familiarity even as his fingers started to stretch him easily; Yugi wasn't even sure when the other two fingers had been added, because Yami hadn't resisted him even for a second, but either way, he was thrusting three dry fingers in and out of him at a rapid pace.

Yami moaned into his mouth, scrabbled at his shoulders, held him tightly for a moment, mewls and a somewhat deep guttural growl bursting forth from his chest to be swallowed greedily by the smaller teen.

His fingers were shaking when he fumbled with the condom around his erection, struggling for a moment to remember how to take it off even as the whole thing made his stomach twist with fear for a split second. He didn't pull away from Yami either way, wanting to drown in the taste of a darkened winter night, almost jumping a mile when two new hands worked at the piece of protection he was wearing, a small ripping noise coming from it as nails pierced it and pulled it off, pre-cum leaking onto Yami's legs and making him moan again.

He only pulled back for air but couldn't bring himself to leave even an inch of space between them, breathing hard against his mouth and feeling a mirroring fan of hot air against his lips as well. Yami tensed up momentarily when he pressed against his entrance but he relaxed rather easily a few long seconds later when Yugi pushed further until he was sheathed inside the hot flesh of Yami's ass.

"See? I told you you would know what to do," Yami said quietly, breathlessly against his ear. His breath warmed the side of his neck and his palms caressed his stilled hips before slowly gliding them to his ribcage to squeeze gently once, finally settling on his shoulders again as he moved them across his chest to drape around his neck.

Slender appendages made warm trails across his back, made his spine tingle with fire and that spark of lightning that felt as cold as ice and burned through him like lava.

"You also weren't kidding when you said there would be a difference."

Yami hummed once in response and when Yugi looked up, he couldn't breathe properly. Those dark red eyes were smoldering, burning into him like blood pumping through his veins. They stared at each other, and though Yami's face was emotionless as their eyes bore into each other, eventually the blue-violet-eyed boy couldn't handle it anymore, couldn't handle the intensity the sharp gaze harbored. His eyes sought safety in the goldenrod of the other boy's bangs but he could feel, unwavering, the gaze burning just as intensely as it was before.

There was this small strange sensation of falling in the back of his head that made his movements falter when he started to pull out and push back in, eyes widening momentarily; when they locked with Yami's again in that brief second it took him to recover, the red gaze was endless and he almost wished he could disappear and drown in it.

His first thrust came out shaky, his body coiling in on itself like a leaf in the wind for a split second before he gathered enough strength to form a second that came out steadier but with a shaken edge.

Yami studied his eyes but didn't say anything and Yugi almost wished he would speak but knew he wouldn't and so instead concentrated on that faint falling motion in the back of his mind. It swallowed him whole when he acknowledged it and he froze in place for a long minute, not the least bit surprised when Yami didn't speak, but startled out of his mind when nails dug into his spine and he snapped back to the present.

A single eyebrow rose at him and again Yugi realized that Yami would catch him if he did fall. He wouldn't even think about it before he did it. Even if it meant they both died, he would catch him.

The thought was terrifying but it was also awarding in a sick way.

He moved his hips again and Yami went about loosening the bite of his nails to hold his shoulders in his palms, blinking only once.

But the thought of falling and being caught, while it should have been reassuring, repelled him all the more powerfully. Even as his hips moved, his mind didn't shut down and fear encompassed his thoughts before suddenly dying away.

Hands were rubbing at his muscles, finger pads smoothing out a path across his skin as they had done before.

Yami kept him grounded…

Yugi shook his mind away from that thought and instead buried his face in the taller teen's neck, breathing hard for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath of salty sweat that smelled oddly enticing and all the more arousing. Yami's fingers continued rubbing, coaxing him gently, breathless mewls and hisses and growls and moans leaving his mouth and making his throat vibrate with the noise.

Yugi reveled in the sensation of the other teen's throat tickling his cheek and nose, purring softly at the noise as he snapped his hips and earned a low pleasurable growl from the other boy, the deep timbre making the coil in his stomach tighten that much more.

And, as selfish as it was, he was glad that Yami was wearing the condom when he came a few seconds before him, the tightening of his muscles around him making him hiss in satisfaction before following his lead. Because now there was less of a mess to clean up.

And neither of them was rendered sticky with an orgasm.

He pulled away a few minutes later when he caught his breath, sitting back and watching as Yami sat up slowly and then blinked a few times before humming softly once and grabbing his clothes off the ground next to the couch between the furniture, pulling them over to his lap.

Yugi watched him for a long time before he himself started to pick his clothes off the ground, a little surprised when Yami got up and took the used condom off, wandering off towards the bathroom before returning a few minutes later, boxers on.

"I forgot my pants," he muttered when he noticed Yugi's quizzical expression towards the strange behavior.

Yugi laughed once and then looked away quickly in order to avoid eye contact. Yami did nothing to comment or draw attention to this, instead focusing on putting his legs through his pants and pulling his Converse onto his socked feet, playing the same game of avoidance as the smaller boy was.

"Why doesn't this feel wrong?" Yugi whispered finally, almost incredulously, staring at the ground.

Yami spared him a sideways glance and then turned his attention to the coffee table. "Because it's not."

But wasn't it?

Wasn't it wrong that the fear was initially so easy to push away where it should have been overwhelming? Wasn't it wrong that he was admitting to something that he never thought was possible in the first place? Wasn't it wrong that he was pushing away his former beliefs for one red-eyed boy?

Because it had been easy with Yami's hands coaxing his muscles to relax. And it had been almost…comforting when he acknowledged the idea of possibly being in love with the other male, of accepting that Yami would catch him no matter the height he dropped from. And that was what he was doing, wasn't it? Pushing away the belief that his guise as the bad boy had pushed everyone away, that he was  _prepared_  for it when someone else walked out on him again…

But then, he had never been okay with the idea that the other boy would be out of his life. The moment he had mentioned even  _considering_ a transfer of schools, he had freaked out. He had argued and fought with him.

Because he had panicked.

Because the thought of Yami being absent…made him panic.

And he hadn't understood it then.

But it definitely made sense to him now.

He had gotten attached just as fiercely as Yami had.

Because Yami could handle him at his worst, when he fought with him and snapped and threw himself at opportunities that should not exist, when he jumped on tables and screamed in the cafeteria, when he threatened him, when he kept him hostage in his house, when he just wanted to fight or fuck.

Because Yami balanced him out.

Where Yugi's jagged cuts ended, Yami's began and the space between was where they bled into each other.

They fit like puzzle pieces.

And that was terrifying but so right all at once.

"So…what are we going to do?" the smaller boy inquired softly.

"What do you mean?" Yami asked as he pulled his jacket on again and lazily buckled his belt as he stood up for a moment before taking a seat on the couch again, still avoiding his eyes as he was doing to him.

"What are we now? Are we together?"

"No."

"Then what are we?"

"We're nothing."

"What does that mean?"

"That we don't have a title. That we aren't dating. That we're simply fucking."

Yugi flinched and stared with a despaired expression. "But…I thought you would be…"

"Overjoyed that you think you might love me back?" Yami said a little spitefully before sighing softly and shaking his head, closing his eyes and leaning forward with his elbows against his knees and his chin in his palms, tilting his head to the side. "I…Yugi, I've learned something recently about you."

Yugi blinked at him and rolled his neck slightly before tilting his head slightly to the side, curiosity making his eyes widen.

"And that is that you like to lie that little black thing in your chest you call your heart out in order to make yourself feel safe. You prepare for the worst because that's what you expect. So, this, right now…if you were put a title on us, you wouldn't be able to survive. Right now you have the notion that this is all one-sided in your head. But were we to make ourselves official, I think you would break. Especially with the pressure of school. You would no longer be able to lie at school about us not being together and it's better that you can lie than let them have even more ammo against us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	17. Blackmail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Homosexual slander and brief mentioning of a lemon earlier in story  
> Homosexual Slander Warning: Pertains to first and second parts.  
> Note: As for the dot on the email Yami is sent, my friends used to use that Snap-Chat app or whatever with the pictures (I honestly never bothered with apps on my tablet or phone unless they were for things to keep me occupied and that wouldn't have because I am NOT photogenic in any way) and there was always just one TINY little pixel that was always discolored and it would get a little bit more discolored right before it would be deleted. I don't know if anyone else ever noticed that or if they fixed it, but yeah, the dot in the email is tiny, not large.

Chapter XVII: Blackmail

"Motou, Sennen?"

Yami opened his mouth to say that the project was not done but Yugi cut him off with a simple, "I'm going to email it during lunch. My internet was down over the weekend."

The teacher nodded and marked this on the clipboard but did not say anything towards this, continuing down his list; Yami gave Yugi a startled look but the blue-violet-eyed boy merely winked once before going back to the worksheet they had all been given.

"Why would you email an incomplete project?" Yami demanded a little sharply as he got to the smaller boy's side as the bell rang; Yugi raised an eyebrow and glanced at him sideways, looking confused for a moment before laughing.

"Oh, yeah, no, it's not incomplete."

"But I didn't—"

"I finished it up. You had a lot more on your mind far more important than just some stupid project. Besides, I didn't need your help for the rest of it," he explained, though Yami gave him an extremely guilty look; didn't Yugi have just as much to think about? They hadn't seen each other since Yugi admitted he could possibly love him and Yami wasn't sure if it was by choice or if it was circumstantial as he'd been tied up the day after with babysitting Mokuba because Seto had to go to an "emergency business meeting" and with his cast he was struggling to reach things that were higher up in the house. "Don't worry about it."

"But—"

"Seriously, don't bother apologizing about it. It doesn't matter. I'm smart enough to pull a simple partner project on my own," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, a small bit of amusement begging to make his lips pull up into a wide smile as he took in the guilty expression even as he scanned his face for anything unsettling; when he had run off the day after, the smaller teen had worried that he might have gotten sick or been in pain because he knew that his ribs were still mending according to the refilled antibiotics and painkillers he had found when he stayed over for a those few hours before he had managed to talk Yami into staying over the night at his house later that day.

"I…Well, thank you."

"No problem. You had far more important things to worry about than a stupid project."

Yami wanted to argue, but it was actually hard to find a reasonable way to do so; Yugi knew all about what had been going on so far in his life so it really didn't matter what he tried to say because he wouldn't be able to lie about it. But judging by the little bags under his eyes, nearly invisible but definitely there, he had been doing or thinking about some equally important things.

"But, if we ever get partnered up for another project, you can do it all for me," he offered.

Yami chuckled softly, eyes warm, smirking before nodding. "Deal."

"See you around?"

He had a small tinge of confusion when that comment reached his ears, the words horribly disconnected in his head. He was so used to one of them going to the other's house and discussing it after class that he was literally left standing there with a highly confused look before slowly nodding.

"Yeah, I…See you around, Yugi."

Yugi felt his heart wrench at the sad undertone that lingered in the air long after the words had left his lips but forced himself not to give in to the urge of talking to him some more when there really wasn't much they could discuss without dwelling into the harder things and to do that would make them both uncomfortable and unhappy, unsatisfied by all means.

"See you around, Yami."

Yami nodded slowly and walked past him, not having to glance back to know that the blue-violet gaze was stuck on him as he headed for the staircase; apparently the farewell didn't really entitle the rest of the day because after that small conversation in the hallway, he didn't see Yugi again. Or at least not that he knew of.

And it wasn't until lunch that he even really remembered that, because it was indirect in the first place.

When he ran into Joey—literally ran into, causing them both to stumble backwards while Yami nearly lost the Puzzle piece in his pocket with the collision—the immediate thought in his head was to see—and he didn't know  _why_ , considering it all—if Yugi was around nearby, and then he felt so stupid afterwards that he really wanted to roll his eyes at himself but thought that might be offensive considering the hotheaded blond in front of him.

"Sorry," he murmured softly, watching honey brown eyes narrow into slits as he started to walk around him; it was only when he had gotten a few steps away that the taller teen finally spoke under his breath, a curse that made his blood grow cold.

"Fucking fag."

Yami froze and then spun around so fast that Joey had no chance to stop him when his fist shot out and slammed into his nose with enough force to throw him on his back; Yami immediately took up the task of stomping on his stomach violently.

He was so tired of being called that, like it was something wrong and unnatural. And it was only further frustrating because with his words his head flashed with his father's words on the phone.

So what if he  _was_ a faggot?

The word didn't even hurt anymore.

But it was so demeaning.

And he hated it.

And why the fuck was it even an insult to be gay in the first place?

He didn't think there was really anything wrong with him. He was still healthy. It was not hurting anyone. It didn't make him psychotic. He didn't try to force someone or do anything like that, and yet, someone like Joey, was trying to make him feel bad about it  _while_ beating him down for it.

And he was so fucking tired of it.

Which was probably why he was practically trying to stomp Joey into pieces.

On the plus side, though, maybe he would get a little sympathy from Mai afterwards—when he dragged his bloodied half-dead body off the ground when Yami finished up with him; honestly, that hardly seemed like it was going to be anytime soon.

There were people coming; he could hear them, but he didn't care enough to look up. No, he was too absorbed in his current very fun pastime of stomping Joey's guts out of his stomach and grinding his ribs into dust. Personally, it kind of felt like a long time in coming, considering that Yami had never really fought him like he was now.

"Fag is kicking his ass!" someone in the hallway cracked up.

The group was growing tenfold with every minute that Yami stayed preoccupied but his head was starting to hurt slightly and his fingers felt drained, like someone had sucked the energy from them, his fingertips twitching and tingling with something akin to pain but pleasurable all at once. Like he had fallen asleep on them earlier and they were just beginning to wake up.

But he was so furious and this attack he was partaking in hardly seemed to lessen it. But then, he was angry about so many things now—about his parents turning their backs on him, about  _allowing_ Yugi to use him all over again even if the feelings  _were_ real, about that same stupid beloved boy being there when he closed his eyes every night always ready to play a beautiful erotic game that made him feel nasty when he woke up again—so he honestly never expected it to happen in the first place.

And the more he let his mind dwell on that, the further he felt disconnected from the whole situation. Something like a fog crept through his senses, a darkness seeping into his mind, drawing him backwards and away from his consciousness, as if he were giving way to something else. He recognized the feeling from several different situations, from camp, from the day his dad walked into his home right before Yugi came and seemed to draw him forward again. And now his mind burned with Duke; the fucker knew things he shouldn't, knew so much that Yami wanted to tear out of his head and eliminate altogether.

Yugi sought his way through the mass of people, shoving who he thought could possibly be Jaden Yuki—maybe, he didn't know, he'd only really met the kid once but he bounced off the walls and it irritated him to no end so he had dropped him like a rock as soon as he was given space, not once talking to him again afterwards—who hit Yusei—Yugi had no fucking idea what the hell  _his_ last name was—to gawk with bug eyes as a fire-eyed Yami stopped stomping and then straddled his waist, punching violently.

He really thought he ought to tell him to stop, to help his former—friend? Was he ever actually his friend?—but that thought died fast, really before it was ever even given form; no, instead he watched. Jaden came up to his side and shouted something that didn't really connect with his ears but he was pretty sure he was telling him to stop it, while Yusei told him to shut up and stay out of it.

Yami continued punching nonstop, blood spraying his face and knuckles as Joey struggled violently beneath him, trying to push him away with hands to his ribs; pain coursed through his system when the blond punched at his wounded lower right rib—it never  _had_  healed right due to all the "strenuous activities" he had indulged himself with when it came to Yugi—but he still did not pause in his movements.

Another well-aimed punch had him snarling and choking him with his left hand but the action was cut extremely short with arms wrapped around his torso and jerked him away from the blond who lunged and landed a punch. Yami struggled harder, snarling and spitting and raging, kicking before elbowing the teacher holding him straight in the face. "Let me go! I'll kick his ass so hard he won't be able to walk!"

Someone in the crowd said something about him putting the wrong verb in that sentence, that he really wanted to  _fuck_ his ass so hard that he wouldn't be able to walk, but that was hardly what caught Yugi's attention.

No, what caught his attention…was Yami and the fury he exerted.

His eyes were the same dark shade of the blood on his face, kicking and grasping out with his hands, snarling and struggling, his movements sloppy because the teacher was too tall to even let him touch the ground. He squirmed and struggled harder but nothing worked as the grip tightened around his torso and restrained him, muscles that kept his back pressed against a body that he hated even without knowing its owner.

Groups in the crowd were howling with laughter, others chanted for him to let Yami go, and Joey was spitting at him as he was taken away; it only spurred him on and at some point he started kicking backwards, his shoes connecting with knees belonging to a man who refused to let him go.

"I'll tear his face off. Let me go!" Yami seethed, struggling harder. "I'll tear his intestines out and wear them like a necklace."

"Ew."

Bakura burst out laughing at his blond cousin's statement and Malik snickered as they watched him squirm and struggle, at one point digging his nails into the man's arms and trying to pull himself out of his grip like some kind of cartoon character.

"Poor Yami," the blond muttered, leaning against the locker and shaking his head, arms crossed as he watched him.

"He's a real ball of sunshine today," Bakura snickered.

"Isn't he?"

Bakura nudged him with his elbow. "I wonder if we can piss him off like that sometime," he murmured, smirking widely. "He looks so  _cute_ like that, don't you think?"

Yami let out a caterwaul of anger at his expression, struggling harder.

"Adorable," Malik drawled in pure amusement, laughing as he slowly turned his attention towards Joey and gave him a Cheshire cat grin. "I want a turn."

Bakura looked around once and then purred, "This is going to be fun."

Both of them started forward but then stopped when they saw a teacher was making their way through the crowd; Bakura curled his lip in distaste and Malik glowered before their eyes both flickered towards Yugi who swallowed hard. The fury in their eyes was not masked by any means when they shouldered past him, making him stagger back with the impact of their limbs and his.

Yugi glanced once over his shoulder at them and then swallowed hard before turning away again, stomach twisting slightly; he was just about to follow and see what happened with Yami but realized how bad an idea it would be for him to do so with everyone around him, instead waiting for the teachers to start separating them and making them go to their next classes. Yugi ignored the teachers in order to pretend he was going to his locker, running and skidding to slam his shoulder into the metal storage unit with a hiss at the noise of Yami spitting something out though the words came out jumbled and incoherent with the distance between them.

Duke was in front of the office, holding a couple of slips in his hands, talking to the teacher holding Yami who struggled and went still rather suddenly; the teal eyes lowered to his after a long minute and the teacher said something but Duke went stumbling sideways and nearly hit the ground with the violent lash of Yami's hand when he struck out at him. The shorter teen smirked in amusement and Duke glared for a single split second before becoming all smiles again, saying something that Yugi could only guess was him saying it was okay Yami had lashed out because he was just mad. For a moment they were both still and Yugi could almost feel the obvious tension that coated the air further down the hall but it didn't stop him from going forward several steps, his movements slow and cautious but mostly just weighed down by reluctance to willingly step in the middle of the two of them.

Yami's head snapped towards him suddenly, eyes narrowed and blazing with pure anger, something dark and dangerous glowing around the edges of his irises and spreading slowly like a newly-spun spiderweb, specks of red starting to force away the dark gray film that coated them; it was only after staring into his eyes for a long moment that he realized Yami did not recognize him at all, gaze cold and uncomprehending towards his presence as he remained still in the teacher's grip. Duke smirked widely when he spotted him and moved aside, saying something that Yugi guessed was a farewell towards the teacher and possibly something towards the other teen who glanced at him before he was dragged into the office again.

Duke approached him immediately after Yami was gone from sight and smirked at Yugi's scowl, murmuring a soft, " _I_ probably more about our little  _Atem_ than you  _ever_ will" with a wink and walking past him without a second glance while Yugi struggled to think of something to say in return.

Weakly his heart rattled in his chest as he glanced towards the principal's office and then over his shoulder once, swallowing hard; he refused to believe that Duke knew Yami or  _Atem_  as he insisted on calling him more than he did but there was still that small bite of nagging doubt that perhaps the other teen  _did_ know more  _about_ him without actually knowing  _him_.

Yugi selfishly wished he knew everything there was to know about  _Atem_ the political figure's son while he got to learn everything that  _Yami_ had to offer as a person; he closed his eyes briefly, listening to the late bell and snorting at the aspect of actually eating, instead slipping into the library and going immediately to the back table without so much as a glance towards the others in the room.

Yami was pushed into the chair in front of the assistant principal who stared at him in shock for a moment before shaking her head and walking off with a soft sigh; it was twenty minutes before Seto walked in, gave him a single look that bordered angry but amused to no end, and then turned and walked into the office with the principal.

And it took another ten minutes before the brunet returned, gestured for him to grab his things with a lazy flick of his wrist, and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself. This is fucking embarrassing, Yami."

Yami opened his mouth to explain but ended up cracking up when his cousin cut him off.

"Your  _seventeen-year-old cousin_ just got called in as your fucking legal guardian. That's fucking shameful." The brunet bumped arms with him as he got up and led the way to his locker to collect his bag.

* * *

"Tristan."

The brunet spun around with wide eyes, slightly confused as if he wasn't sure he had actually heard his name and Yugi guessed that made sense considering how massive the crowd of people around them was; if they weren't about to go into the auditorium for a huge school announcement he would have noticed him right away. Yugi snatched his wrist and dragged him away from Tea and Joey who were chatting about something or other the small teen didn't care enough to know.

"Yugi, what's up?" he asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder and turning back with a confused look, leading the way towards the back doors and back through the hallways towards the new music wing that was still undergoing construction enough to be deserted most of the day as it only went about being worked on before and after school hours.

"I need a favor."

"Uh, sure, what—?"

"Don't agree so easily," the small teen snapped a little harshly, making the other teen's eyes widen in surprise at the venom in his voice. "I need you to do something as far as…well, the group. I need you to add an extra member to it."

"Huh?"

"Make friends with Duke," Yugi stated bluntly, putting his hands in his pockets and studying his face. "I need you to make friends with Duke, get him accepted into the group."

"What?" Tristan asked incredulously, furrowing his brows and frowning at him. "You want me to make friends with  _Duke_ of all people?"

Yugi nodded slowly. "I need some information on him. And I need it soon. He's causing trouble," he muttered, chewing his cheek. "And you  _know_ I hate it when people cause trouble for me."

"…Yugi, you can't be serious."

"Dead," Yugi snapped. "I am dead serious, Tristan."

"You want me to fucking  _spy_ on Duke for you by getting him into the group?"

"Is it  _so_ hard to understand?" he snapped, pausing and sighing before grabbing at his hair harshly and tugging. "I'm sorry. I'm frustrated and this is…I'm just…I need to know how the fuck he knows so much about…something."

"You mean the thing with Yami being the ambassador's son?" Tristan asked quietly, frowning slightly as Yugi's eyes turned sharp and a glare crossed his expression. "I know because I looked him up. His yearbook picture brought up a match with Atem Sennen from Egypt."

"Should've known you would do something like that," the smaller teen muttered, rubbing at his temples and shaking his head slowly. "How long have you known about that?"

"Honestly? Since ninth grade."

" _What_?"

"I was on Yearbook Committee, remember? Had to transfer pictures around…" Tristan trailed off for a moment, remembering the way that he'd been gawking at the screen for a full ten minutes when the picture had first shown a match online when he accidentally dropped it into Google rather than the Yearbook's editing program. "I accidentally dragged it into Google instead of the editor. It brought up a  _bunch_ of results. I'm honestly surprised no one else figured that out."

Two years. Tristan had known for two years.

"Why didn't you—?"

"Why would I have told you?" the brunet cut in, shaking his head. "First of all, if I had told you before you two started talking, you would have taunted him with it until he snapped. Second, if I had told you while you two were doing the project, you know you would have been  _pissed_ at him for not telling you. So it was honestly better that it happened the way it did and he told you."

Yugi frowned. "Actually he didn't tell me. I found out from a text that Seto sent him. I got nosy and looked up who the fuck 'Atem' was and found out that way." Did it mean more or less that it happened that way? If it  _hadn't_ would Yami have ever actually  _told_ him himself?

"Yugi, that fucking kid is in love with you," Tristan muttered, rolling his eyes when he caught the way that Yugi's attention was starting to go somewhere else entirely. "You  _know_ he would have told you on his own at  _some_ point."

The smaller teen chewed his cheek but nodded slowly, knowing that was probably true after what had happened recently; Yami couldn't claim to love him if he didn't trust him. And he couldn't claim to trust him if he was hiding himself from him.

"Look, if you need me to spy on Duke, then I'll do it," he murmured, drawing Yugi back into the conversation and making his eyes widen in shock; he hadn't expected him to agree so readily, by all means anticipating having to talk him into it, to argue until he caved. "But just…you know, don't expect much. He might have just known from looking him up—"

"No," Yugi spat, standing straighter with a blaze to his eyes that made Tristan go still in alarm. "You don't get it. He knows  _too_ much about Yami for it to be some kind of pathetic little coincidence. He knew his  _real_ name, he knew about his  _parents_ before I did as if he had  _planned_ it or something, and he seems to know something  _else_. I don't know what the fuck it  _is_ but I know he knows  _something_  and I want to know what it is."

Yami was right; Yami was so right. Yugi felt his stomach twisting and his gut wrenching, feeling almost sick as he closed his eyes momentarily. If they actually put a label on their little misguided complicated hookups, he wouldn't survive it. He was having hard enough a time as it was just trying to just keep his head on straight with Duke knowing those things about Yami. But how long could he expect him to last feeling so strongly about him and knowing that they couldn't be together?

* * *

Mokuba was a well-behaved kid for the most part. Occasionally he got rambunctious and did stupid things, but overall he was a pretty great cousin. So of course Yami wasn't the least bit unhappy with the idea of taking care of him for a couple of hours while Seto went about his business meeting; the brunet dropped him off at the mansion, leaving him to his own devices but commenting that he had his medication in the ground floor bathroom, behind the mirror cabinet door.

The red-eyed teen didn't think he would use them though he did look at them curiously upon finding them, not truly surprised that Seto had stocked up on the pills in case he needed it while he was there because it was hardly anything new for him to be around the Kaiba mansion; it wasn't too often but he did occasionally show up there every now and then just to talk to the brunet or mess around with Mokuba.

His younger cousin was by far one of the most amusing people he had ever met; he took ADHD medication but it didn't really do much to keep him from getting a little scattered when he started talking about one subject, bouncing to the next with little to no warning and blushing when he realized his mistake. Yami always found it funny to watch him catch up with his own jumble of conversations, trying to sort back to one that made more sense than his current, occasionally frowning and growing distressed with the task.

Now the eight-year-old had no real strength to go running around with that cast on his leg but he did have enough energy to make up for it as he led the way in a fast limp towards the kitchen; snatching up some of the sandwiches the butler had prepared for him. Yami had never gotten used to the idea of butlers and maids, despite his higher status growing up.

He had grown up with maids and butlers but whenever he thought about telling them to do something he had gone quiet; only one of them had ever gotten to know him well enough to actually know what he wanted and when but they had been fired when he was six for apparently "babying" him. Yami couldn't remember her name anymore and the thought made him sick to his stomach because surely she should have mattered more to him considering, but he had no recall and so he stopped trying after a while.

"Ew, what the hell is that?" Yami muttered, wrinkling his nose at the sharp fishy smell that entered his nose.

"Tuna," the smaller boy answered with an innocent look, blinking and snickering at his expression. "You've never had tuna?"

"I can gladly say that that disgusting smelling food has never entered my stomach, yes," he stated, grinning when Mokuba blushed, sniffed his sandwich and then shrugged and went back to hungrily gulping in mouthfuls of bread and fish. "What do you want to do today?"

The brunet stopped short and frowned as he looked at the other male who sat across from him with his jaw in his palms and his red eyes half focused on him but half glazed as if he were thinking hard about something; Mokuba wasn't sure he wanted to know because a lot of what he had learned about his cousin had hardly been good. His dad was abusive and mean, his mom was a coward who let the abuse happen, Yami was a little on the naïve side because of how he had grown up and if he was really honest with himself, he knew  _all_ about the million and one things that seemed completely wrong in his head at times.

Like now, he seemed at full attention and he knew he was studying him, but there were thoughts rolling behind his eyes, gears that turned and clicked but grated against each other in the meantime, drawing blood and fractured ideas that mutated into things that no one wanted to admit. He knew the fog that lingered in his gaze when he got angry though he had never seen it directed at him, he recognized the darkness that pulsated and lashed at the air around him like vibrations when he was truly furious, and he could identify the moment that he fell back into that persona of pure anger and destruction, chaos and madness.

"You look tired."

Yami tilted his head, a small smile playing across his lips, a gentle reminder that he knew him well enough to recognize the fear of his wrath and stating without words that he would never turn it on him. "Is that your way of telling me to fuck off while you go and do your own thing?"

The smaller boy grinned around a soft blush, wanting to laugh but not enough to let the noise out of his mouth, eyes bright. "No?"

" _Bull_ ," the taller teased, shaking his head slightly and shrugging a shoulder. "Do you need any help with homework or is that under control?"

Mokuba pursed his lips, considering the question but shrugging. "I'll ask you if I need help, okay?"

"Mmhmm," Yami hummed as he rose to his feet and headed off into the living room, plopping on the couch and draping his legs over the armrest lazily, grabbing the remote and turning on the plasma screen hanging up on the wall before dropping the remote back onto the cushions and staring at the National Geographic special; for two hours Mokuba didn't do much other than his homework, occasionally looking at the TV and continuing with his worksheets. Several times he glanced at him but the red-eyed teen stayed distracted and Mokuba really had to worry about him.

"I need spelling help," he announced suddenly.

Yami raised his head and stared at him curiously for a moment; Mokuba had never been a stupid kid and he was far ahead of most of the others in his class, reading at a grade eight rather than five like the other smarter kid, and spelling was not something that ever troubled him. In all the years that he had helped him with homework, it had been math and sometimes science where he faltered.

Never spelling.

"What's the word?" he finally asked after a long minute of studying his face.

Mokuba threw his workbook onto the table, frowning at him and shaking his head slowly. "What's wrong? Seto said something about you getting into a fight?" he muttered; he knew all about the fights that had broken out because of Yami's sexual orientation, something that had honestly startled his older brother who had been  _convinced_ that Yami was merely asexual and had no desires to even try to connect with others on more than a friendly level and Yugi was just a simple-minded fling that had happened once because he was too stressed to deal with everything at the moment.

But that phone call to the house, the one that he had overheard Seto yelling at Yami about him keeping quiet about all of the shit that had been happening, the explanation for the bruises that Mokuba himself had seen on several occasions even before his dad put him in the hospital, had been horrifying to hear by all means. At first he hadn't really understood what it meant when Seto explained it to him after spotting him eavesdropping, but he knew that others in high school didn't get picked on like Yami and whoever  _Yugi_ was—he didn't have any feelings towards Yami's "boy toy" as Bakura phrased it because he had yet to meet him but sometimes he really hated him just because of the choices he made when it came to his cousin—which had brought up an entirely new conversation about how people blew things out of proportion and it was Yami and Yugi's social statuses at the school that brought it on them like that.

"You sound like a parent," he muttered, tone teasing but eyes glinting with a clear warning that seemed to fall flat and reverse itself into a meager wall of ice to block him from reading his emotions. "What's the word?"

"Yami."

"Seriously, Mokuba, what's the word?"

For a moment the two of them stared at each other and finally Mokuba shook his head slowly. "Yami, are you okay? Were you being picked on again?"

"Are you trying to console me?" Yami hissed, curling his lip back slightly as he rolled his eyes. "Mokuba, just stop. I'm not talking to you about this."

"Because I'm too young?"

The red eyes narrowed and gleamed, studying and boring into his skin with such intensity that it made him flinch away; when Yami finally spoke, his voice was cold, detached and different, somehow dark but without malice. "I learned much more when I was younger," he commented, the words casual despite the delivery. "You being young has nothing to do with it, Mokuba. It has to do with me not wanting to talk about it because it's something  _I_ will deal with on my own, understand?"

He didn't answer immediately and it was scarier that Yami didn't repeat "Understand?" in a sharp voice, instead letting it die between them as his eyes shot back towards the TV as if enthralled with it for whatever reason; his cousin didn't apologize and Mokuba wasn't sure what he would have done if he had.

Yami stared at the changing pictures on the screen but none of them really connected with his mind, thoughts of his attack on Joey making his head spin furiously to the point that it almost had the power to bring his stomach into a somersault to vomit what little contents lingered there.

The word faggot didn't hurt. The implications didn't hurt.

But something about the very idea of him being one…it burned and seared him, marking like a cattle brand, tearing his flesh and leaving him feeling stripped and hollow and weak.

And he was pretty sure he was not supposed to feel this way about it.

If he had felt comfortable with his sexuality, why did it kill him so much to apply it to himself?

Why had it driven him into such a rage against Joey like that?

It wasn't the words "fucking fag" and it wasn't even the fact that he wanted to end the fights that he knew were going to begin if he left it as it was the moment the blond hit the ground; it was the fact that he had applied the words to himself. Had called  _himself_  a faggot.

Yami closed his eyes and ignored the way that Mokuba's gray gaze was now lifted from his paper, focused completely on his face.

* * *

He wasn't really paying attention to the emails in his box two hours after he left his cousins' house and one popped up rather suddenly, just as he was about to sign out. The noise of a bubble popping made him stare for a moment or two, his eyes taking in the dark red email notification warily before slowly gliding his finger over the mouse-pad to put the cursor above it. He wasn't really in the mood to read it, but finally, he clicked the stupid thing.

And then he was cursing violently in Japanese and Arabic and looking ready to scream his head off as he glared at the screen.

" _I know about you being disowned._ "

What kind of fucking subject was that?

Yami bared his teeth.

" _Either come out on TV in the next week, Atem Sennen, or your predicament will be broadcasted everywhere. I have everything set up to knock you down. Seven days. On Wednesday next week, you will expose yourself or you will suffer dire consequences._ "

Who the fuck were they to threaten him?

The sender's address bar…was completely empty.

And it didn't help that he was given another email that said only two words.

" _Seven days._ "

He almost hurled his laptop across the room but realized how stupid that would be. No, he wasn't about to damage his electronics. It wasn't like it was the TV or the laptop threatening him.

But what was the purpose of this?

Exposing himself as being gay would do nothing to him.

It would hurt his…

Yami couldn't help it when he burst out laughing.

* * *

"Here."

Yami passed the papers over to the brunet who stopped mid-speech with one of his business clients to stare in surprise at him before glowering.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"This is your official warning to get your little client out of here before I lose my temper and  _throw him out_ ," he snapped, red eyes blazing as they took in the other boy. Spiky brown hair, semi-narrow blue-gray eyes, short lashes, a somewhat baby face, with really stupid clothes and a pair of—were those goggles?—on his head. Either this kid worked really high up or Seto was letting his company's reputation slip a little.

"Valon, leave us," Seto hissed softly.

The boy gave Yami a wide-eyed look, then glanced at the icy-eyed Seto, and bolted from the room.

"This had better be good," the remaining brunet in the room grumbled at him, grabbing the papers and looking at them in confusion but utmost interest.

"I need you to trace an email."

"From these papers?" he muttered incredulously, looking up at him with an eyebrow cocked in annoyance.

"No, you nimrod. That's to  _recover_ it. It self-deleted after fifteen minutes of being open. And the only reason I realized that was because of that little dot that appears in the corner when people do that."

Seto blinked once and looked the papers over, flipped through them curiously, staring with a darkened expression. "Thank god you actually know how to use the computer now. I guess it's a good thing you really  _are_ a quick study," he said gruffly.

Yami shrugged a shoulder lazily and watched him. "Well?"

"For fuck's sake, give me a minute," he snapped, rolling his eyes. "And this couldn't wait until I finished my meeting?"

"No."

The brunet let out a single hum of a noise and then pulled his own laptop out of his desk drawer, starting it up and grabbing a small portable scanner and several other items. "You're just lucky I have an extra copy of my firewall on this stupid thing."

"Yes, who would you be without your firewall?" Yami inquired dryly, taking a seat in the computer chair "Valon" had occupied a moment before, spinning around and around while Seto started to analyze the email and recover it.

"Well," he finally murmured after five minutes of the computer working on its retrieval, "it's from a former employee of your father's. He was smart. He gave an alias instead of his information. The email account is purposely rigged. He knew you would come to me with it."

The red-eyed teen narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly to the side.

Seto turned his laptop around for him to look at.

" _Hello, Atem. Or should I call you Yami? Either way, you won't find me anytime soon. Because I don't want to be found. But kudos to you for coming this far. I knew you had it in you. Smart boy that you are. Not smart enough, however. But if you want a hint as to who I am, I think you'll find my demands to be rather easy and straightforward. I demand my share of the money that your father rightfully owes me._ "

Seto was waiting for something—he really wasn't sure  _what_ —to pass over Yami's face, but it never did.

He remained just as detached as he had been upon entering the room.

The only difference now was that his hands were grasping absently at the upside down pyramid that rested against his torso.

"And he calls me the fuck up."

The brunet couldn't help the snort of amusement.

Yami flashed him a wide smirk.

"There's more though."

The smirk very suddenly collapsed at the shrill sassy voice of the firewall that his cousin had installed to keep his business so powerful and unattainable from outside sources, eyes narrowing into slits of annoyance.

"What else?"

A window popped up as Seto stood and walked around to face the laptop with the red-eyed teen, both of them staring as the pop up expanded and a million different images began to appear on the screen only to have a bar that titled "Disarming Firewall" filling rather rapidly with green to show its progress.

And then a new window popped up and then another, another two bars titled "Hacking Progress" and "Information Recalled" which filled almost immediately.

Finally, the  _needed_ window appeared on screen.

"Son of a bitch."

Both of them hissed this in unison, glaring at the screen as they took it in.

The same demands. That Yami's father would have to watch his son come out on television as a homosexual, or else the actions they took against him would be exposed. But this one had a soundbite and when it played, Yami felt sick to his stomach.

"What happened to what you used to tell me when I was young, mother? What happened to 'No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, I will always love you, I will always protect you, and you will always be my little boy, always and forever'—what happened to that? Have I changed so much that you can't possibly love me anymore?" his voice was asking.

Seto gave him a shocked look—and Yami only recognized it as shocked because of the way that his eyes widened momentarily before returning to normal just as fast.

"What happened to what you used to tell me when I was young, mother? What happened to 'No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, I will always love you, I will always protect you, and you will always be my little boy, always and forever'—what happened to that? Have I changed so much that you can't possibly love me anymore?" the clip replayed.

The brunet shifted slightly away from him, stared at the screen as "What happened to what you used to tell me when I was young, mother? What happened to 'No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, I will always love you, I will always protect you, and you will always be my little boy, always and forever'—what happened to that? Have I changed so much that you can't possibly love me anymore?" was spat through the speakers again.

"What happened to what you used to tell me when I was young, mother? What happened to 'No matter what you do, where you go, or who you become, I will always love you, I will always protect you, and you will always be my little boy, always and forever'—what happened to that? Have I changed so much that you can't possibly love me anymore?"

Yami hit the desk so hard that the laptop nearly fell over and the sassy voice of the firewall cried, "Hey, I'm only showing you what you wanted to see."

"Make it shut up," he ground out.

And it did. Just as "No matter what" was coming out.

Seto shook his head and let out a sigh before leaning forward against the desk, closing the laptop and turning to him but not speaking.

And while maybe Yami should have been fuming or scared, all his mind could process was, "Do I really sound like that?"

And his cousin was shaking his head with another sigh.

* * *

Yami was not expecting him when he showed up. And he especially wasn't expecting him to be holding an envelope with no return address but his  _own_ in the upper left corner, but the writing was far from his and Yugi seemed to know this because the look in his eyes was skeptical as he held it out to him before taking his backpack off and digging through it to pull out his laptop.

He didn't do the normal of asking about what it was, instead opening it and then recoiling, dropping the pictures as his fingers trembled and his eyes stared blankly at the images that lay across the ground.

No…

"Hmm…that was better than my reaction," Yugi muttered, rolling his eyes. "But that was only because Grandpa was looking at them as I was. And you know what he said?"

Red eyes flickered up to lock with his, blinking once in confusion before narrowing into slits, shaking his head slowly though the question was truly rhetorical.

"He told me it was good that I was getting rid of any excess testosterone though he had always wished that I would have children."

He blinked once. "Bullshit. There's no way he said that."

"Oh, no, Yami, he did. You have no idea. He's been trying to get me shacked up with someone since I was fourteen. Said I shouldn't miss out on what life had to offer just because my voice wasn't deep."

Yami raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I'm starting to think he might have been part of the reason that I started to have that…thing for Tea," he admitted, stepping around the pictures and closing the door before heading for the living room, humming before calling out, "He used to talk about her breasts a lot when she hit puberty."

Yami stared at him for a moment and then turned his attention back to the pictures on the ground before very slowly kneeling down to pick them up.

"Don't bother. Just come over here. I have something that I really need to show you," Yugi said, cutting his actions off as he grabbed the first photo, one of them… Yami shook his head, dropped it like it had burned him and walked slowly towards him to take a seat on the couch next to him.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that Grandpa might have been looking over my shoulder when I was watching this." He dug through his files for a moment, went from Computer to Library to Videos, dwelled deeper to retrieve a password, and then clicked on a link entitled "I Know What You Did".

His eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

The audio didn't catch their words, but it did catch the moans, the mewls, the growling that Yami had emitted, the squeaking of the bed, the way Yugi hit the headboard a little hard when he was backed up into it.

"How…?"

"I don't know."

Yami reached up and grabbed the headboard, Yugi stared up at him. Yami used the headboard to ram into him harder. Yugi matched him thrust for thrust.

All of it. Recorded. From the window. Of his bedroom.

"Well…that's just lovely."

Yugi barked out a laugh. "They said that I would have to download it. It was password protected and everything. Made it strong enough that I really  _couldn't_ open it without downloading it first. He also said to show it to you. Before…the big event happened—what, uh…what's the big event?"

"I have to expose myself as a homosexual on television," he answered distractedly. Wow, actually, as disgusting as it was considering the circumstances, the noises Yugi was making kind of made his pants tighten.

"Seriously?"

"Next Wednesday. News reporters will be all over school grounds."

"Holy crap. That's going to suck." He paused. "So…why is this happening?"

"The guy who sent this…was fired recently. I have no idea why, but he was fired and now he wants to get back at my father but I think it may have been because of my mom, honestly. But, think about it, what could possibly be worse than his 'miracle son' being exposed to the world as a faggot?" he murmured, sitting back and crossing his legs, studying the video for a long time. "He's sent my father a soundbite of my mother and I talking…of her disowning me. The effects of that released with my coming out…that would be devastating towards his campaign."

"Suddenly I wish you weren't my fuck buddy."

"Yeah, join the club."

Yugi stayed silent for a minute, closed his eyes, hummed softly. "You're more of a bad boy than me," he finally muttered before opening his eyes and glaring at him playfully. "I think I need to change that."

Yami gave him a wide smirk. "Oh, I don't think it gets much worse than destroying your parents' livelihood single handedly."

"Oh, no, Yami, I  _will_  find something. I can't be outdone as the top dog anytime soon."

Yami snickered and shook his head, turning back to the video where his smirk fell and shattered into a frown. "Ra, everything is so fucked up."

"I don't really believe in mister sunshine solar deity, but I still agree."

He laughed softly. "You're a strange kid."

"That's why you love me."

They both stiffened simultaneously for a moment.

"Yeah, maybe."

Yugi didn't respond, because there was nothing left to say.

* * *

"Well, it's definitely not the only copy if it's blackmail material," Seto said, leaning back against the leather chair, drumming his fingers against the desk; the entire time he had ignored Yugi completely and had only addressed Yami.

The red-eyed boy lolled his head back and let out a sigh. "I know that. Is there any way that you could trace it back and encrypt it or something? Infect them?"

Seto shook his head slowly. "No. I already tried that when the email was sent. The guy is a lot smarter than I originally took him for. He's made himself completely untraceable and if I were to try to put the virus into something, it would corrupt someone else. There is no clear way to get back to him."

Yami drummed his fingers against the armrest, thinking it over, but found no solution. "Well, that's just great," he muttered, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Your firewall had no suggestions?"

"No."

"Damn it."

Yugi wanted to, but he didn't ask what the fuck Yami meant by his firewall having suggestions, because that made no sense whatsoever. Firewall was protection in the computer, protected you from viruses. It wouldn't  _have_ suggestions to make.

"How many copies do you think there are?"

"Probably a lot. Maybe a couple hundred," Seto muttered. "In case he has to send it elsewhere. Definitely a ton of them left around. There's no way that he would send you one without a bunch of others. That's not how blackmail works."

Yami huffed. "I hate people."

Yugi snorted in amusement and Seto smirked.

"When hasn't that been an issue for you?"

Yami draped his leg over the side of his chair and spun with a kick from the desk, watching the room blur for a few moments before it stopped again and he was looking at Seto rather simply. "Hmm…I don't recall that ever not being one," he admitted.

"Then again, you probably have a right to think that anyways," his cousin said thoughtfully, shrugging once. "Either way…are you polishing that thing?"

"Excuse me?" he asked abruptly, staring in confusion and disbelief towards the question. "What the fuck does that mean?"

He nodded at the Puzzle. "That. Are you polishing it?"

Yami looked down at it, grabbed the chain links in his right hand and lifted the hollow gold pyramid, tilting his head. "Polishing it? No…why?"

"Because you've had that thing since you were three and you finished it at six and you've always had it so how it is  _not_ dirty?"

"Um…"

"Is it real gold?" Yugi asked suddenly.

Icy blue eyes flickered towards him and a nose wrinkled in disdain.

Yami nodded and turned his attention towards his shorter look-alike. "It is."

Seto didn't like the gleam in his eyes as he looked at the smaller boy. It was not that he did not approve of his choices, but Yami could do so much better and it was rather pathetic that he was settling for someone so mediocre. And what had that mediocrity gotten him so far?

Pain.

Humiliation.

Embarrassment.

Fear.

Heartache.

His hand forced to humiliate himself further by getting on TV to tell everyone that he was gay.

His mother and father disowning him.

Suicidal thoughts and actions—that had yet to be proved beyond his little "cliff diving" experience, but Seto was pretty sure that if he could do it once, he might try it again.

And shitty blackmail.

So no, he didn't approve of Yugi. Not in the least.

Yami could do so much better.

And he hated the way he was looking at him with such keen adoration hidden behind a deep amusement.

And the fact that Yugi seemed to dismiss this and instead stare down at the Puzzle while swapping it occasionally for Yami's face, irked him so much that he almost lunged over the desk and punched him.

But his cousin wasn't a little kid and Seto couldn't do much that would not make Yami hurt him in a counterattack if he was to try to butt in. Yami would have to figure everything out on his own, regardless of how his cousin felt about it.

There wasn't really that much else he could do for him.

Yami was not oblivious to the tension in the room. It was rather hard to ignore his cousin's ire, but he still did it, because acknowledging it meant that he was just giving Seto something further to use against him and he refused to do so. Besides, it wasn't like he could turn it off or anything. And he was so tired of trying anyways.

"Is there any way I could try to block him out of my email or something?" Yami asked, turning his attention back to the brunet whose face twisted from the smallest, slightest of scowls to blink once and shake his head slowly.

"I think that maybe it's safe to assume that this guy might have been the one to text that picture around school—"

"No, that was Tea and Joey," Yugi interrupted, making those ice blue eyes flicker and blaze as they bore into his; he was not intimidated by any means, instead giving him an unimpressed look.

Yami nodded and again kicked the desk to spin in his chair. "Tristan told me that after it happened." He paused. "Besides, Tea was— _is_ —mad at me for that little stunt I pulled and Joey has  _always_ been a homophobe."

"You knew about that?" the smallest boy in the room asked, eyes wide as he looked over. He knew Yami was there when he shouted it from on top of that lunch table, but he said  _always_ and not just stated he was a homophobe which implied he had known much longer.

"It's rather hard to miss, Yugi," he replied, coming to a stop and facing his cousin with his head turned towards the blue-violet-eyed boy. "He picks on them indiscreetly and puts them down rather harshly. Not to mention that he sits on the other side of the desk when he's around you in class. And, no surprise, but he also always keeps  _away_ from anyone who isn't completely straight."

Yugi frowned a little. "Yeah…he's kind of an ass like that."

Yami shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. The point is"—he returned his attention to Seto who narrowed his eyes slightly—"that it was Tea and Joey who sent the pictures around school. Now, what I haven't figured out is how they got the picture in the first place. Because how the hell did he get their email addresses in the first place?"

"Probably the same way that they got everyone else's numbers," Seto replied with a roll of his eyes. "The student directory. They have all the contact information and you guys are  _required_ to keep your cell phone numbers on there and up to date every semester in case of emergency, right? Along with email and home phone, so it's really no surprise that he got their information."

"Yes, but I want to know  _how_. How did he get into the school? How did no one realize that he wasn't supposed to be there? How did he convince them to give him the damn thing? That is supposed to be confidential. They said that they did not give them out to others. And he isn't part of the staff and he sure as fuck isn't a student, so how the hell did this happen?"

"You don't think he might be a parent to one of the students?" the brunet inquired.

Yami stopped short and his shoulders tensed as he narrowed his eyes. "I forgot PTA gets the stupid things every month too," he muttered, leaning back into the seat and drumming his fingers on the armrest. "But I don't think that's possible. I don't…Maybe, but he just started showing up a month or two ago and I don't think that he could be a member of the PTA if he was in Egypt this entire time."

"No, but if he were to transfer his kid into school and sign them up for PTA, they would be required to hand over the directory upon their joining," Yugi replied with a tilt of his head. "So, technically, all it would take is a single day to do it."

"Okay, but the last exchange student we had was…Devlin"—Seto sat up a little straighter at the venom that cloaked that single word, and Yugi shifted slightly in his seat, looking terribly uncomfortable; he  _really_ needed to tell Yami that never happened in the first place—"and that was a few weeks  _after_ the incident occurred."

"But that would be normal, wouldn't it? It would seem almost like his parents were thinking that maybe it would be too hard for him to catch up at the end of the first half of the semester so he would have to start the second half of the semester, but then again, just putting him in at the end of the first half of the semester would make it seem like they didn't want him to lose more school than they needed, right?" Yugi suddenly inquired.

Both of them looked at him for a moment and then turned back to thinking it over as they stared at each other.

"It's possible," Seto responded quietly, frowning and narrowing his eyes. "And considering how well he's thought out everything else, I can't say I'm surprised if that was in fact what he did."

"So if we get to Duke"—again there was so much venom in this word that Yugi squirmed and Seto sat up a little straighter, eyes sharp and calculating and full of curiosity he didn't bother to hide—"then we can find out who is doing this."

"It's not that simple. I don't think that Duke would know anything," Yugi muttered softly.

The sharp look that Yami gave him made him cringe mentally and his eyes flashed, but he didn't make a physical movement to show the distress that came with the glare the taller boy shot him.

"I mean, why would you tell your son if you're going to be blackmailing a bunch of people?" he amended quickly, swallowing hard and hurrying to correct his mistakes. "And why would you tell him that you—?"

And then something kind of clicked in his head.

"Oh fuck."

He got up and swallowed hard.

"I think I need to go."

Both of the cousins watched him but neither objected to his running off.

* * *

Yugi punched him so hard he stumbled and fell off the stool; the bartender looked stunned, opening her mouth to object, and people were starting to stare, but the blue-violet eyes were focused on the teal-eyed boy on the ground before him.

"You fucking bastard," he spat. "You're part of this shit too."

Duke glared up at him. "Part of  _what_?" he snapped.

"Part of this scam. That's why you claimed you fucked me in school after I beat your ass," he growled. "I stayed quiet because I was too tired to bother arguing it out with everyone because obviously they wouldn't have believed me anyways, but what the fuck? What did I do to you? What did  _Yami_ do to you?"

The taller boy blinked and slowly got up to look at him.

"You just got here a month ago and you're already screwing us over—"

"Oh shut up. Like you don't deserve it."

"Tell me what I've done, Duke, because I honestly don't know."

"Your stupid boyfriend over there—"

"He is not my boyfriend," he shouted. "He's not my anything. He doesn't even matter to me. I fucked him a few times. That's  _it_. I don't get why the fuck everyone wants to put labels on everything. Is it not good enough to just be used for some release? For fuck's sake."

Duke rolled his eyes; if there was nothing more obvious, it was the two of them practically pining over each other like morons.

And for a moment Yugi didn't remember what it was but that motion made him suspicious before tilting his head and realizing exactly what it was.

"You…didn't just transfer here. You were in Domino before. For a year before you left for America again and came back."

Now he looked surprised.

"You stayed for that Duel Monsters convention that was going on. That tournament that Seto put together. The one that lasted much longer than it should have." He shook his head and glared. "If you're mad about me kicking your sorry ass in Duel Monsters—"

"Who gives a fuck about that? No, personally, I have nothing against you."

"Then what do you have against Yami?"

He didn't answer.

"Because if you didn't have something against him, then you wouldn't have claimed to have fucked me and you wouldn't be using his birth name all the time," Yugi snarled. "So what is it? What did he do to you?"

"He ruined my chance to become a millionaire."

"Excuse me?"

"Does the word  _success_ mean anything to you, Yugi? I bet it sounds foreign, considering you fuck to get what you want and don't work for it," Duke spat. "He ruined my chance to become successful, famous, wealthy."

"You're delusional. What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means that your little…fuck buddy might want to watch his back."

"What are you planning to do to him? What's the point of all of this?" Yugi demanded.

Duke stood up, smirking, his dark green eyes full of sardonic amusement, full of annoyance and malice. "That's for you to find out later on. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

"Surprise?"

The raven-haired boy barked out a laugh and then turned and walked off before Yugi could say anything more.

"Son of a bitch…"

* * *

"Duke knows something but he won't say," Yugi said quietly.

Yami blinked once and tilted his head, rubbing an eye tiredly; it took Yugi a moment to realize that the taller boy was in black pajama bottoms and a gray sleeveless shirt, hair disarrayed and his posture slightly slumped.

"Oh crap. I didn't think this through…"

The other boy waved his hand dismissively. "He won't say?" he echoed softly, covering his mouth as he yawned loudly behind his fingers and then snapped his jaw shut so that his teeth made a startling chomping noise like an angered dog.

"He said that there's something big planned for you though. That you should watch your back."

Yami suddenly scowled at him, bristling as he growled, "Was that before or after you fucked him?"

Yugi blinked and rolled his eyes. "Knock it off. You don't fucking need to be jealous of something that stupid. I never fucking slept with him," he snapped, walking inside and pushing Yami back a couple of steps to lock the door behind him. "Look, the point is that he said they have something planned for you. Something about how you ruined his chance at success or something."

The red-eyed boy narrowed his eyes, obviously not about to let Yugi get away with that simple denial. Obviously he wanted more but was not about to question it just yet, instead turning back to the subject at hand.

"I don't remember doing such a thing. I've never even interacted with him before he started forcing me to recently. All I know is that he's an ass and I've met him once in ninth grade and that was it," Yami stated simply, narrowing his eyes further so that they turned into a pair of gleaming slits only lit by the rather plain yellow light overhead that cast the room in yellow.

"Hmm…did you not indulge in  _white_ bulbs?" Yugi commented after a moment, looking up at the bulb and back, raising an eyebrow. "Too expensive for Mr. Ambassador's Son?"

"Mr. As does not wish to talk about his crappy lighting."

He let out a small laugh. "I didn't even realize that was what it spelled."

Yami shrugged and leaned against the wall, glancing at the lighting. "That shit does suck though."

The smaller boy nodded eagerly. "It does. I suggest you invest in some white bulbs next time."

"Ha," Yami commented, turning his attention back to Yugi. "Fuck no I'm not investing in jack shit."

He was laughing but the other boy was completely serious in expression, watching him closely. "What?"

"Nothing."

Yugi didn't miss the little flash of guilt and pure hatred that marked his eyes momentarily; he didn't miss the way that Yami's eyes would occasionally flicker towards his neck as if searching for marks and he sure as fuck didn't miss the way the red gaze narrowed as they took in his clothing.

"I didn't sleep with him!" he snapped. "I never slept with him. I ran into him at a bar—a  _gay_ bar—because I was looking for a place where I would be far away enough from the house that I wouldn't really get home at any point when my grandpa was awake. And so that people wouldn't recognize me. And I got there and…shit happened."

"Shit happened?"

Did he tell him about the fact that he had tried to force him into his car in the backseat to fuck around a little without any actual signals of interest? Did he tell him that he beat the shit out of him for doing so? Did he tell him that Yugi  _only_  pushed him away because he  _wasn't_ the boy in front of him?

No.

He didn't. Because, like before in the cafeteria, he really didn't want to hurt him. And if he told him all of that, he might just make them both think that they had a chance where there was none for the moment. And he couldn't do that. Because, despite himself, he cared too much for the red-eyed boy to allow that to happen; he didn't care if he hurt himself but to put Yami through more pain made his heart wrench. He cared too much to hurt him again.

Directly or otherwise.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

Yami gave him an incredulous look but didn't press and Yugi was grateful for that, as he always was, relieved that Yami actually  _knew_ what borders and boundaries meant. But the look in his eyes said that he was struggling to connect the dots, probably getting the idea of the bruises and black eye that Duke had sported but not knowing how to apply it properly.

"Very well. So, you swear you didn't fuck him?"

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Yes, Yami, I swear I did not fuck him."

"All right, so what is it that you want from me exactly?"

"I—what?"

"Forgive me. That came out wrong." He shook his head, leaned against the wall further, closed his eyes, and muttered, "You caught me during one weird ass dream. I'm not…I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's whatever. Anyways, so he knows what's going on. And I'm pretty sure that's why he started saying I slept with him. Because that would further screw up your reputation, you know? And I don't know, but I have a feeling that he might try to pull something on Wednesday."

"Nothing will be more humiliating than what I already must do. I am going to alienate myself from my family so permanently it will be amazing. And what's worse is my father is  _guaranteed_ to be watching or else news of my status of being disowned is going public in every way. They have the conversation between my mom and me on file…" He blinked his eyes open into slits, staring at him with almost completely black eyes due to the shadows of his long lashes. "So I hardly see what could possibly be worse than what I am being subjected to."

"I'm so—"

"It doesn't fucking matter. You can't do anything to stop it and it's not like you're the reason this is happening. It was my own stupid mistakes that brought this on, nothing else. I was a fool to think that I could possibly get away with what I had done."

"But you didn't do anything wrong."

"I…I know that." He didn't sound very convincing but the look in his eyes said he was speaking the truth. "But that's not what matters. My opinion on it doesn't change the fact that it has broken apart every bit of my connection with my parents."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	18. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story

Chapter XVIII: Hurt

He woke up spooning him.

With his erection nestled so tightly between his clothed cheeks that he could have been screwing him in his sleep the entire time.

Was he awake?

When he leaned forward over his side, careful not to brush against his left shoulder from the way he lay on his side half-curled up, the other teen turned his head to regard him groggily.

"Oops!" he snickered, pulling away slightly.

"If you could remove your penis from my ass, it would be  _very_ much appreciated."

Yugi burst out laughing and pulled away enough that they were no longer touching but he could easily reach out and pull him flush against him again. "Sorry."

Yami let out a yawn, jaw clicking together again loudly, snuggling back into his pillow with a quiet "If you're hungry I  _think_ there's cereal…?"

"You  _think_ …?" Yugi echoed, enunciating his words in the same way the other did, watching him curiously; it was far from a dismissal, instead a softly spoken half-thought that seemed to have slipped out without him truly meaning to speak in the first place.

"…I might have eaten it all…?"

"You know, you're kind of hilarious when you first wake up."

Yami let out a hum of acknowledgment that died away after a few long seconds; Yugi scooted forward to peer over his shoulder and watch his face, amused and surprised to see that he was almost asleep again.

"Please stop staring at me."

"But  _why_? You're so  _cute_ when you're half-asleep," Yugi teased.

"You know, watching someone sleep?  _Not_ a turn on for me. I automatically fucking assume you're a weirdo," Yami grumbled, snuggling into his pillow again. "So if you could roll back over and face that wall on  _your_ side of the bed, I would be  _very_ happy."

"Newsflash, Yami, you're looking  _pretty_ fucking happy to me."

Yugi grinned at the blush appearing on his golden-bronze cheeks, laughing when Yami twisted his upper body to face him and glared as he reached out to push him away with his palm against his forehead.

"Shut up and go  _back_ to your side," he sniped, still blushing somewhat but mostly laughing as Yugi huffed and settled back against his own pillow, blue-violet eyes narrow and a small grin playing at his lips; Yami had been referring to the left side of the bed as his all night. Yugi apparently knew no boundaries when it came to personal body space, instead constantly grabbing him in the middle of the night and waking him; at some point he put up a wall of pillows between them that Yugi threw out of the bed when he came back from the bathroom. The painkillers Yugi had  _insisted_ Yami take before bed when he saw how he was favoring his left side had given Yami a weak bladder that had him getting up almost every other hour and putting the pillows back up between them. Each time Yami woke up, Yugi was drawn back into consciousness a few minutes later, laid around for twenty more after he went to the bathroom and disregarded Yami's mumbled apologies for waking him, waited until he was sure Yami was passed out again, and then threw the pillows out once more, resulting in a game that eventually had Yami feigning sleep and attacking him with his pillow while Yugi laughed and tried to defend himself. The taller teen eventually got so fed up with his removal of the pillow wall that he tried to kick him out into the living room but Yugi had _somehow—_ and he was fuzzy on the details—managed to talk him into letting him stay in the bed with him.

And Yugi was far from ashamed to admit that just sleeping in the same bed as him and waking up to see that he was still there, albeit grumpy, gave him more of a thrill than sex  _ever_ could.

He couldn't help the soft smile when Yami shifted and tried to cuddle with the inanimate object under his head, the smaller teen sitting up as he watched him curiously.

"Either lay back down or  _go away_ ," Yami growled.

"Hmm, no, I think I  _like_ sitting like this."

"You little  _shit_."

"I am, I am, I am," Yugi sang loudly at his side.

Yami twisted halfway to look at him through narrowed red eyes. "Shut up."

"No thank you," he laughed, frowning when Yami abruptly got up and started digging through his chest of drawers; was he just going to give him a change of clothes and then kick him out? Yugi stayed quiet for a moment, swallowing hard before licking his lips, fearful and nervous for a moment. "W-what are you doing?"

"Looking for some fucking  _duct tape,_ " Yami spat, slamming the drawer shut again and looking around. "I have a fucking roll in here  _somewhere_ and I would  _know_ where if I wasn't so fucking tired!"

Yugi burst out laughing and Yami scowled at him as a threw a sock at his head.

"Shut. Up."

The teen snorted, laughing harder, pulling the little article of clothing into his lap and grinning widely, covering his mouth to keep back his guffaws when Yami shifted awkwardly on his feet and narrowed his eyes at him, grinding his teeth as he hissed out, "I will  _piss_ on you."

"Oh  _shit_ ," the smaller howled, falling into the comforter and struggling not to cry as Yami continued glaring before shifting his weight once more and then running off into the bathroom.

"Fucking—Yugi shut  _the hell up_!" Yami spat loudly.

He curled into a ball, crying and wiping at his tears quickly, his guffaws only getting louder; it was only five minutes later after he washed his hands that Yami came back, something hidden behind his back.

" _Last_ chance, Yugi. Either  _shut up_ or I will  _make_ you, got it?"

Yugi shook his head, laughing harder, the other teen glowering as the sound of glue being stripped made him gawk and Yami sprang on him, forcing his jaw shut with his left hand and tearing off a piece of tape to put over his mouth, smirking at his handiwork and about to throw the roll aside when the smaller teen ripped it off his mouth, wincing momentarily but grinning widely immediately after.

"You're so tired from the drugs that you don't even know what you're doing!" he cracked up.

Yami scowled and tossed the tape away. "Useless piece of shit," he grumbled, crawling over to his pillow with such a tired expression that Yugi  _almost_ felt bad for his next words.

"Maybe if you ask  _nicely_  things will go your way."

"Yugi, would you  _please_ be quiet so I can get some  _actual_ sleep?"

" _Fuck_ no. I meant the tape," Yugi snorted, laughing. "Ask it  _nicely_ if it will bind my arms and hands together while covering my mouth."

Yami turned his head and glared silently, Yugi laughing harder as he fell back into his pillow and watched him press his face into his own before pushing his body to land harshly on his right side, facing away from him with a huff.

"I'll only be quiet"—Yugi fought back more laughter at his loud groan—"if you roll over. I want to see your face, not your back."

"…You swear that's  _all_ I have to do and then you'll shut  _the fuck up_?"

"Scout's honor."

"Fuck scouts. Give me your  _word_ , damn it."

"Fine, all right. You have my word."

Yami rolled over to face him, pulling his comforter up and snuggling into his pillow, eyes snapping open when a bang was brushed off his cheek, half frustrated but rapidly growing exhausted, scowling at the look on Yugi's face that  _clearly_ read,  _You said_ nothing  _about touching_. "I  _hate_ you," Yami grumbled, closing his eyes again and struggling not to but failing miserably to contain the purr that built up in his throat as Yugi massaged his scalp and he peeked through the mess of black he called his lashes to see that the smaller teen's blue-violet eyes were pools of water that gleamed almost invitingly, beckoning for him to reach out and touch; for a moment they stared at one another and then finally Yami shifted closer to press into his side, closing his eyes again to give in to sleep.

Yugi waited until the purr died off slowly and he knew Yami was fast asleep to kiss his forehead and get dressed to leave, glancing over his shoulder at him to make sure he was still dreaming before slowly pulling the door shut behind him and moving down the stairs quietly, slipping outside with a glance up towards the window.

* * *

Just as he was told, there were news vans everywhere outside of the schoolyard when Yami walked there on Wednesday. Yugi was standing a few feet away, giving him a look that he couldn't quite read, that was instantly swallowed away by a million microphones thrust in his face.

"Your manager said that you had an announcement to make?" an Egyptian woman asked with wide eyes, watching him closely.

"I do," he answered before clearing his throat, choosing not to comment that he didn't  _have_ a manager because he wasn't even famous and that was a really stupid cover up. What the fuck was he? Some kind of stupid teenage singer?

The questions that they had been shooting at him the entire time quieted to a mellow roar before dissipating completely.

He drew in a deep breath and raised his head high. "The last time we spoke of this matter, I did not give a true answer. My friend spoke up for me before I had the chance to truly explain. However, that will not happen this time, as I do not need it to. For those who have been following this story and still wish to know the truth, the picture was in fact, real."

Some gasps broke through and then some more questions were being thrown at him.

"Why did you keep this secret?"

"What happened to the girl you claimed was your girlfriend?"

"Are you dating Yugi Motou?"

"Why would you lie on television like that?"

He was going to open his mouth to object but then a new voice called out, "He kept it a secret because he's a fucking coward."

Yami's head snapped up, eyes narrowed and glaring.

"And the girl was just a decoy. As for Yugi Motou, he's a slut who will sleep with anyone who looks at him the right way."

"I am not a coward. I simply protected myself from further scrutiny," Yami snarled, pushing through the crowd of reporters and towards Duke who was smirking widely at him. "And Mai Valentine is one of my best friends who offered to help me out when I needed her. Do you even have friends, Devlin? Because I fail to see any of them coming to your rescue now, as you are embarrassing yourself in front of millions watching television. And Yugi Motou is not restricted to dating me. I am not with him and he is not with me. If we were, you would have your teeth shoved down your throat for insinuating what you just did."

"What? You can admit to the world that you're fucking  _gay_  but you're too ashamed to admit that Yugi is your boyfriend?"

"I am ashamed of  _nothing_ ," he spat viciously, stopping a step away from him and glaring. "And you would be wise to swallow your words."

"Make. Me."

"Is that the best you can come up with?"

The new voice had them both looking up in surprise, Yami's eyes widening while Duke glared furiously; that wasn't part of the plan. Yugi wasn't supposed to get involved.

"I thought you were supposed to be so much better than him, Duke," Yugi continued in a lazy drawl, walking closer and smirking widely. "But it seems you have no idea who you're even talking about. By the way, if you want to take someone down, you shouldn't do it to someone who is ten times smarter than you. Yami and I are not officially dating. But whatever. It's not really anyone else's business anyways. And if you want to rat on someone, how about you rat on yourself?"

"Or I could tell them about how you cheated on him with me."

"How about you tell them about how I punched the shit out of you and broke your windshield when you tried to force me into your backseat?"

Yami's head snapped towards Duke's face, eyes widening in shock. "You did  _what_ , you stupid son of a bitch?" he snarled.

"Really? Are you that afraid of letting everyone know how much of a slut you really are, Yugi? You're going to fabricate everything? Pulling a page from your coward of a boyfriend over there?"

Yugi raised an eyebrow and smirked widely. "I love that you would say that. Because I actually have someone here who can testify that I never fucking slept with you in the first place, Duke. Miho was down the street from us and she saw the whole thing. She saw me beat you up when you tried to force yourself on me and she saw you drive away with your tail between your legs like a coward."

"What?"

Yami's eyes flickered back and forth between Duke and Yugi and then back again before settling on the smaller boy once more, seeing that he was suddenly smirking at him devilishly, grabbing him by the shirt and jerking him forward to mash his mouth against his. Duke went wide-eyed and Yami couldn't close his eyes because he was too aware of the cameras on his face, but his mouth was working at his regardless until Yugi finally pulled away, breathing hard with him and smirking widely at the cameras before winking.

"He's too good a kisser to cheat on."

Yami blushed slightly and Duke glared at him, but Yugi ignored them both in favor of saying, "Very talented tongue. I'm surprised he wasn't married before he got here. Everyone's really missing out on it."

Yami blushed harder and then looked down, thoroughly embarrassed.

"And so shy too. So cute, don't you think, Duke?" A spiteful bark of laughter stabbed through the air as he stepped towards the black-haired teenager. "Tell me again why I would cheat on him even if we aren't dating? Especially with someone like  _you_?"

Duke opened his mouth but his phone sounded, a single little chirp, and it seemed like some kind of signal because he suddenly backed off and wandered inside the building without a backwards glance. Both Yami and Yugi stared after him with confused looks but were immediately drawn out of it by the cameras and microphones in their faces.

"So the photo wasn't fabricated then?"

"Do your parents know about this?"

"Have your parents said anything?"

"Your father is against gay rights. How do you plan to deal with this?"

"How have you kept it from your parents?"

"How long have you known?"

"Do you believe in gay rights or do you follow your father's opinions?"

"Have you told your parents yet or is this the first time you have told anyone?"

"What made you ready to do this?"

"What made you take up such a big step?"

"What attracted you to Yugi Motou? Is it because you look alike? Are you that narcissistic?"

"What do you think will happen with your father now that it's official you are moving against his campaign?"

"How badly do you think you will affect his campaign?"

Yami stepped back and brought his fingers to his mouth to whistle shrilly, making them all cut off and stare with wide eyes. "The photo was not fabricated. It was real. I did kiss Yugi Motou. I do not know who took the picture, but I do know that it was actually real. I do not know if my parents know about my homosexuality, but if they do, they have not said anything, so I cannot truly comment on this question. Yes, as almost everyone who knows about me and my family, my father is in fact against the rights of gay people. I have nothing to say on this matter. I will deal with it as my father and I see fit. I still have no real say on this matter. And there is really nothing to deal with. My father will have his say and I will have mine. I make no promises that anything will change. This is the first time I have told anyone that I was in fact gay as I was originally accused. What made me ready to do this was just that it felt like it was the right time to do so. I have no opinion on gay rights. It has never truly affected me in any way before now and even now it does not affect me as my rights are not being tampered with. What made me ready to do this is simply that I got tired of hiding it all the time. That was my motivation for taking this step and announcing myself on television. I am not narcissistic. It was just a…infatuation with body chemistry, nothing more and nothing less. I make no move to affect my father's campaign. His campaign has nothing to do with me in the first place. And if this affects his campaign, he has my apologies, but I don't have a say in what others' reactions will be to this information."

They started to talk again but he turned and walked into the building before they could get a word in edgewise, knowing that Yugi was right behind him without turning his head to look over his shoulder at him.

"Why did you do that?"

"I wanted my title of badass back."

Both of them were laughing on their way to homeroom.

* * *

Yugi answered the door at six in the afternoon after school, earphones in and a small gray hoodie hugging his frame as he bobbed his head slightly to a beat that Yami couldn't hear, watching him as his hips wiggled with a couple of steps, letting him inside and dancing away a couple of steps towards the stairs.

Yami raised an eyebrow and smiled widely, closing the door behind him and locking it before following him upstairs and into the living room, laughing as the smaller boy hummed and did an exaggerated thrust of his hips, glancing at him with a sly grin and waggle of his eyebrows.

"Someone seems very enthusiastic to see me," Yami commented with a chuckle.

"Mm, yep. You make my body roll in ways it didn't know it could," Yugi responded, rolling his hips and tapping his foot unconsciously in time with the beat.

Yami laughed lightly and smirked as he took a seat on the couch. "Roll for me then. Put on a show."

"Are you asking me for a lap dance?"

His cheeks lit in a rare blush. "W-what? No, I—actually, now that you mention it, are you offering or…?"

Yugi laughed softly. "I would offer…but considering the things going on right now, I mean the pictures and stuff…I really don't think it's such a good idea." He paused to look at him but his hips were still moving and his head continued nodding with the music, his foot still tapping, soft hums coming from the small boy for a moment. "So, what did you come over for? Did you need something or did you just wander over? Ooh, are you drunk again?"

Yami burst out laughing, the sound impossible to stop once it started. "No, Yugi, I am not drunk," he murmured, kicking his legs slightly and watching him with a strange expression that Yugi couldn't quite describe. "But if I said I was drunk, would that make your clothes come off faster?"

Yugi gave him a startled look and then snorted in amusement before pulling his earphones out and draping them around his neck, raising an eyebrow and smirking at him. "Oh, did you come over for some fun time with Yugi?"

He blushed again. "I…I did," he admitted, offering a small weak smile. "But in my defense, I expected you to jump my bones the moment I stepped inside."

"Is that your passive aggressive way of calling me a slut?"

"Oh, but Yugi, I don't have a passive aggressive bone in my body." He paused and then purred, "Except maybe your penis when you're in me, but still."

"He is not passive aggressive. He is very aggressive and very dominating," Yugi told him matter-of-factly. "You should get your facts straight if you want him to come out and play again. He likes being flattered, not teased."

Yami chuckled and shook his head. "I apologize, Mr. Happy. I'll remember to only flatter you," he announced, staring at the smaller boy's crotch.

Yugi threw his head back, laughing loudly. "Did you just name my penis?"

"I did." He nodded, unashamed by this fact. "I named him Mr. Happy. He is very enthusiastic even when he isn't out."

He hadn't really noticed that the teasing had gotten him hard, but now he had his attention solely on the sensation at Yami's words and he kind of wanted to glare for making him notice the uncomfortable sensation but he was too busy laughing.

"Should we name yours too?"

Yami glanced at his jeans for a moment and then looked up again. "No. He's very happy not to be named. He likes his independence."

Yugi gave him a wide smile, shaking his head as he pulled his phone from his pocket and unplugged his earphones, dropping them onto the coffee table and looking him over slowly, the smile falling eventually into a tiny frown as he leaned against the armrest. "Yami, if we slept together again, I don't know how we would do it—or where, because honestly, there isn't really much we can do right now, considering. I mean, they took pictures from the _skylight_  and both of our windows. They even recorded us. So I honestly don't really see this as being a good idea anytime soon."

He frowned a little and drummed his fingers against his knee, chewing his cheek thoughtfully and shaking his head slightly. "I know, I just…I need something to distract me because nothing else has worked."

"Nothing else?" Yugi repeated. "What else have you been up to then?"

"Video games, studying, reading…those kinds of things."

"Hmm." He shrugged a little. "Well, I would gladly sleep with you again, I could use the distraction too, but where the hell would we do it? If they could get us from the rooms and they bugged your house…"

"There has to be somewhere. Think about it, Yugi."

So he did. For a long time.

Yugi spent over five minutes just debating it and how humiliating it would be to the red-eyed teen before finally sighing out, "Okay, well, there are the bathrooms but nothing else. I mean, they might want some recordings and pictures of us, but I highly doubt even they want to hear me in the bathroom. Because that shit would just be weird."

The taller boy laughed, because that was so true.

Why the hell would anyone ever want to hear someone else in the bathroom of all places?

"The bathroom is fine."

Yugi gave him a strange look, startled by the statement and a little stunned, obviously thrown off by his response and wondering if it was going against his pride or doing anything to harm his self-esteem—which Yugi was  _not_ very oblivious to being low because of all the shit that  _had_ and was  _still_ happening—and then pursed his lips. "It's kind of small though."

"Your  _bedroom_ is kind of small."

"Yeah, compared to yours, but yours is like some kind of palace room or something."

Yami laughed. "My parents don't ever let me do the modest thing. Always big."

It shouldn't have made his mind fall to the gutter but it did, and he was laughing so hard that he couldn't stop for a few minutes, doubling over the armrest and cracking up even harder when Yami didn't join in, obviously too confused to understand what was going on in the first place.

"Oh shit, okay," he laughed, shaking his head and waving a hand dismissively as he straightened, catching his breath in ragged gulps. "Uh, anyways, if you want to do this, we might as well do it now."

"Yes, please, make it sound even more like a chore."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. I'm sorry. Forgive me."

Yugi snorted. "Whatever. I'm starting to think fights might be something of an aphrodisiac."

"So what, you argue with someone and get hard from it?"

"I don't know. You seem to be the only one with enough balls to actually do it."

"Am I?"

"Yes. Apparently everyone else is afraid of little old Yugi Motou."

"Hmm…well, you do look like a fucking monster half the time, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"I do not!"

"You do, Yugi. You always look like a monster."

"How dare you."

"A cute monster, but a fucking monster nonetheless."

"Fuck off."

"I won't. But I will fuck you."

Yugi moaned deep in his throat and licked his lips. "Promise?"

"I do."

"Then let's go."

* * *

Yugi spent the next three days receiving videos and emails of his little escapades with Yami. And fuck, if the audio wasn't enhanced. But it was definitely mouthwatering to hear Yami moaning like he did. And it was pants-tightening and pre-cum-invoking to see his muscles rippling beneath his skin with each of his thrusts. And if it wasn't impossible not to want to stroke himself due to the sounds the taller teen made. But he didn't, because that was something he just didn't do.

But oh how disgustingly arousing and terribly, painfully amusing it was to watch these videos—not that he really had a choice because the instructions said he had to download them like before and even when he didn't click on them, they played anyways. And it was kind of a good thing because when he watched them, he came to the realization that he was right and they could not get into the bathroom—thank god for that.

Of course, his little erotic pleasure was completely cut off when Yami came to the house again, not to fuck, but to stare at the videos as if they were alien before saying, "Seto said he found a traceable email from the guy, managed to send a virus to him, but we don't really know if it worked or not. Either way, he boosted his firewall again."

"Okay…"

"Just thought I would tell you."

"Um…thank you for keeping me in the loop, I guess?"

"Why are you watching those?"

"Because he makes them self-play so I have no choice."

"Okay, but I meant, why are you still in the same room when they're playing instead of leaving it with the video playing?"

"What do you not understand about how strange my grandfather is?"

"I highly doubt he would want to watch his grandson being fucked."

"I'm pretty sure he masturbated to a Duel Monsters card once."

Yami gave him a strange look, blinked several times, and then turned away with wide eyes. "O…kay then," he announced, awkwardly clearing his throat. Old man had his fetishes. As long as he didn't hurt anyone, that was his business. Awkward to know, because he certainly hadn't asked, but it was the elderly Motou's business, not his. "That's…thank you for that very lovely information. I will cherish it always."

Yugi laughed. "Whatever. Point is, I don't care if my grandpa has his weird little tendencies and all that. I really don't. But I also don't want him watching me being fucked. That might be awkward."

"Except didn't you say he was  _proud_ when he found out?"

"Oh yes. He definitely was."

"That's…so lovely."

Yugi couldn't stop laughing.

* * *

The screen turned bright red with blue-violet letters in the form of "Hello Yami" dancing across it. Yeah, this definitely wasn't how his laptop was _supposed_ to start up.

The words bounced across the screen and Yami could see that it was spelling out a name, and it definitely wasn't his. Leaning forward, his eyes trained and glued on the letters, the name slowly came to mind.

But he only knew of one person with that name.

So it didn't help.

Arkana?

It couldn't be the one who was working with his father. Because he was still in Egypt…

And then his computer crashed.

There was the sound of a dumpster being dropped and a toilet being flushed and a high-pitched voice giggled, "Goodbye Yami, be a good boy" just before the screen went black; every time he pressed the power button, it lit up for a split second and then died again.

Son of a bitch actually hacked him.

And there was really nothing on his laptop that could be used against his father or anyone else for that matter—certainly not him. He merely used it for looking up random things, occasionally glancing at his father's latest conquer and how many new people he had brainwashed into following him. And he used it for homework. Studies. There was nothing else…

But still the fucker had stripped him completely of even the start-up functions.

"Motherfucker," he hissed under his breath, clenching his jaw and shaking his head slightly. "Goddamn it…"

Yugi and the blonde girl showed up two hours after he called him. Of course Yami hadn't been expecting her and it wasn't like he wanted her there, but when she kicked the shit out of his shin, he was not a very happy camper.

"Asshole" was the first thing she said to him.

"Bitch" sprang to his lips but he didn't voice it, instead glancing at Yugi who gave him an apologetic look and whispered, "Crush on me" in his ear, seemingly unconsciously reaching out to touch his arm gently before following the girl.

"Rebecca, don't be mean to him."

She turned around with this cutesy smile that made Yami's lip curl back. "Okay, Yugi." But as soon as Yugi checked his phone she was glaring at him and Yami was ignoring her in favor of heading into the kitchen.

"Hey, do you have any soda?" Yugi asked suddenly.

Yami glanced over his shoulder at him as he pulled the fridge open. "Tons. What do you want to drink?"

"Got Sprite?"

"I do. Does um…"

"Rebecca," Yugi supplied before turning to the girl who looked up with bright eyes at her name, raising an eyebrow before turning his attention back towards the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, Yugi!"

He didn't bother saying that Yami was the one getting them and he wasn't about to ask her what she wanted because he knew what she liked from the hours they had spent at his house, but he did go into the kitchen to find Yami with his phone to ear and what seemed to be Seto talking. Yami held out a Sprite while he put an open one on the counter and screwed the cap back on, still listening before looking up and furrowing his brows.

Arkana…where  _else_ did he know that name?

He wasn't the guy, though. He knew that much…

The single time he had interacted with him, he had profiled him enough to know that he was  _not_ smart enough to pull this kind of shit. He was more of a loner and didn't like to work with partners which obviously meant that he wouldn't have relied on Duke to play messenger with the picture sent around school. Now the question, to him, at least, was both whether Duke's parents were involved in this and if so  _which_ because he had a slight suspicion that the teen only lived with  _one_ though he couldn't remember.

It had been too long since he had seen the teen before he left for the states again and his sudden reappearance did little to jog his memory, most likely due to the stress of the situation as it should have reminded him of everything he knew of the stupid teal-eyed boy.

"All right. Thank you, Seto."

There was a huff and then the line went dead while Yami pocketed his phone and wouldn't look at him for a moment; Yugi stepped forward and a distracted glance told him Yami was paying attention but he was also thinking extremely hard. "I'm sorry about Rebecca. She's…extremely jealous. And she saw us on TV."

Yami blinked once slowly and then nodded slightly. "It's okay. You shouldn't be apologizing for her anyways."

"No, but she won't apologize for herself," Yugi replied. "And she's going to seem like a pest but if you can use some of that patience you have for  _me_ it might not be so bad."

"Hmm." He took a sip of his Spite again, his slender fingers somewhat awkward in their action of twisting the cap off, obviously unhappy and distracted. "I don't know if I have that kind of patience. I'm impatient by nature."

"You're not impatient with me."

"Yes, well you're not exactly incompetent and annoying."

Yugi frowned slightly. "I think…that if you hadn't met her under these kinds of circumstances and if she didn't have such a massive crush on me, you wouldn't dislike her so much. She's actually really smart—but I won't refute your statement of her being annoying."

"Oh look, Yugi's using semi-big words."

"Like your dick."

Both of them snorted out a laugh and Yami turned away to glance out the back door before turning back; something was off about something in the house but he had no idea what it was and honestly he was just too tired to truly give it the attention it deserved.

"What's wrong, Yami, don't have a comeback for that?"

He shook his head tiredly. "Not at the moment, no. I'm too tired to think of anything right now."

Yugi frowned and leaned against the fridge door, watching him. "I wouldn't have brought her over here if I didn't think she would be useful…"

"Useful…You sound almost like Seto. Someone has to be useful or they aren't needed for anything…" He smirked. "Actually, no, you sound more like my father. Seto doesn't use people as much as you two do."

Yugi recoiled, flinching with wide eyes.

Red eyes watched him for a moment and then turned away to regard the floor curiously, gaze seeming to spark with something of an idea before it died almost immediately, face twisting into something completely different. "I apologize. I am just so fucking tired of all of this shit. I want it to be over. I want to be able to sleep without this bullshit happening."

The smaller boy nodded after a moment but that startled and horrified expression did not leave his face.

"Yugi!"

Both of them stood straight in alarm at the shrill distressed cry of the blonde in the living room, but only Yugi took off to see what was going on, stopping short and groaning while Yami came around the side and burst out laughing. Rebecca was standing on top of the coffee table and pointing at the moth on the wall—extremely small and dusty in color and doing nothing but staying attached to the plaster.

"I knew there was a reason I hated girls," Yami snickered softly.

Yugi laughed at his comment, glancing at him with wide amused eyes before turning back to deal with the harmless moth on the wall. "Here, I've got this. Go get a soda or something," he muttered, rolling his eyes while the blonde leaped off the table; basic instinct had him opening his arms to catch her, both of them falling over with him on his back and groaning from the impact.

She giggled and kissed his cheek while Yami merely raised an eyebrow and watched as Yugi squirmed and wiggled his way out from under her, glancing over his shoulder and mouthing, "You would think she weighed a million pounds" with a distressed expression.

Yami howled with laughter and Yugi grinned before getting up and going over to the small bug; Yami personally really hoped he wouldn't kill it because it hadn't done anything, but whatever.

Rebecca came over to him and at first he didn't quite notice the glare until she had grabbed his arm and pulled him into the kitchen, pushing him back against the counter with one ten times as powerful as the original.

"I don't know how much you paid Yugi to kiss you on TV, but you better stay away from him. He is  _mine_ ," Rebecca hissed at him softly.

"I didn't pay him anything—"

"It doesn't matter. The point is that Yugi is mine, not  _yours_. Mine. M-I-N-E."

Yami risked a sideways glance at the small boy who was now sitting on the couch watching TV, ignoring the impulse to clap his hands and sneer at her that he was glad she knew how to fucking spell because her immaturity made him think she was two. "He kissed me. I didn't do anything. And I think Yugi can choose who he wants."

"He's going to be my husband one day, so consider this your only warning. Stay away from Yugi."

The red-eyed boy bristled. "You're delusional and I feel sorry for you."

She opened her mouth but then Yugi turned around and leaned over the back of the couch, possibly sensing the fight that was about to arise or maybe just frustrated with being there in the first place, maybe anxious because of Yami's absence or possibly Rebecca's, or by chance just tired of hearing their voices but not knowing the words spoken. "Rebecca, didn't you say that you found something weird earlier?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah!" She paused and then looked at Yami sideways, voice completely void of the disdain it had held moments before. "This guy has been in your house. Obviously. I mean, you said something about how you were recorded, right? Anyways, I think he's screwing with you now because he left a couple of footprints over by the backdoor and considering your feet are too small to make a print like that…"

"I never even noticed that…" Yami said quietly, staring past her and at the floor; sure enough, there were footprints marked by dirt and dust on the wood. Not many, but just enough to make it apparent they had gotten in through the backdoor and wandered around, circled off and disappeared outside again. Well, that explained the thing that had been  _off_  all day.

"That's because I'm  _smarter than you_ ," Rebecca chimed happily in a singsong tone, playing with one of her pigtails as she looked at Yugi who watched Yami and then glanced at her blankly.

"Highly unlikely, but I'll pretend to agree for argument's sake," Yami mused softly before walking around to look at the footprints, inspecting them slowly before narrowing his eyes into slits. "I can't believe I missed that…"

Yugi got up from the couch after a moment, wandered over to the backdoor and looked as well before grinning widely at him. "I'll say, Yami, they look like tracks from a Sasquatch."

Yami flipped him off, chuckling. "I wouldn't be offended if you just shut up."

"You might not be, but I would."

"Who cares if you're offended or not?"

"Don't talk to my boyfriend like that!" Rebecca suddenly screamed.

Both of them jumped and stared at her in shock, eyes wide before Yami glared and Yugi blinked slowly, muttering, "Rebecca, I'm not your boyfriend. We aren't dating."

"Not yet," she cooed. "But you are taking me out soon!"

Yami went still and his eyes flickered towards Yugi's, where they grew wide and dark in confusion, clearly begging him to refute her statement, to tell him it wasn't true. But Yugi couldn't do that so instead he stared at Rebecca silently for a long minute.

"You know, jealousy isn't a pretty color on anyone Rebecca. I really don't want to date someone who gets jealous over absolutely nothing."

"You kissed him."

"So what? Didn't mean anything."

Yami looked away, studying the floor intently. Honestly, how  _had_ he missed those prints? Normally he was so keen that he would have caught track of that almost immediately. But no, this time…

"Rebecca, please go work on the laptop. I want to get something to drink."

A kiss aimed for his lips met his cheek when he turned his face away and she shrugged it off before wandering back into the living room again, humming softly as she started to play on the laptop again.

Yugi went about crouching down next to him as soon as she was out of the way, chewing his cheek as he watched Yami look the footprints over and pointedly avoid so much as glancing in his direction. "I wouldn't have brought her here if she wasn't a computer wiz. And she wouldn't have come here if I hadn't promised to go out with her." He watched a series of anguished pain flicker through Yami's dark gaze before turning blank again as he admired the wood he was staring at, nodding at him once. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He sat back on his knees, narrowing his eyes as he looked the footprints over. "You're free to do as you wish. Like I told you before, we don't have labels."

He opened and closed his mouth and then ducked his head, turning away.

Some part of him actually wished he would fight with him now, try to make him believe that when he had said that, he had really meant to  _push_ Yugi into agreeing to becoming bound by a label. But he didn't, because he was Yami, and Yami didn't fight like that. Yugi both admired and hated that about him.

"Yami."

Rebecca let out a shrill noise and Yami's head snapped around, standing up immediately, while Yugi jumped a mile and then stood up as well; ice blue eyes stared at Rebecca in pure distaste momentarily before focusing on a pair of surprised red.

"Arkana, does that name mean  _anything_  to you?"

"Seto, that's impossible. He's…still in Egypt as far as I know," he argued, frowning and shaking his head; Rebecca twisted around on the couch and stared pointedly at the tall brunet's feet before turning her attention towards the footsteps next to Yami's own foot. "For fuck's sake, the last time I checked, he was still there. I think Father might have mentioned him recently—I mean before he disowned me—maybe said he was working well…?"

The brunet narrowed his eyes for a long minute and then slowly let his gaze flicker towards Yugi who he had  _yet_ to ever actually greet, expression annoyed before focusing on Yami again. He pulled his briefcase out—how had they all missed that?—and put it on the table before opening it and pulling out both his laptop and several printed pages, handing them to him before turning his laptop on.

"Well, he and someone who I  _assume_ is Devlin's father are the reason you have been found. I don't suppose you know that your father is a raging  _drunk_?" his cousin stated with a roll of his eyes, handing him the papers which were all in-depth records on the man who looked extremely familiar to the smaller teen, eyes widening drastically as he looked them over and flipped through; oh yes, he recognized him… "Arkana probably used that to his advantage, got information about where you were hiding. He is still part of the program so he has all the time in the world to approach your dad and get dirt on him. I'm guessing he is the one who got the information for your…stalker because it was kept out of  _any_ form of media. And your stalker got this brat Duke and his father involved in it all."

Yami chewed his cheek hard for a few moments and then sighed. "What's the point of this anyways? It won't help anyone." He looked through the records some more, stared at a death certificate but didn't comment on it, and then slowly narrowed his eyes. "I thought his name was spelled differently. I didn't exactly recognize it when he crashed my computer…"

Seto sighed loudly and then shook his head before starting his computer up and going into his email before showing it to him. "Here is what he sent me to send to  _you_."

" _Seto Kaiba, I know that you are helping your cousin with this problem, but perhaps you should stop. We wouldn't want to see anything happen to little Mokuba, would we_?"

Yami bristled. "I'll kill him."

Seto smirked and snorted softly, not saying anything with words but allowing his response to speak for itself that he had had the exact same thought upon reading it.

" _Now that I have your attention, you are to go to your cousin. He is going to need a lot of help with that little virus his computer just obtained three hours ago. In three days' time there will be a message for Yami that will appear online and on television. He should be watching for it. I think he will enjoy it_."

"Enjoy it?" Yugi muttered, glancing at Yami who didn't look up from the screen; all three of them didn't have to ask why this was happening all over again. Yami had buckled and done as they had asked the first time, lying about several things but still coming out, and now they were pushing again for something more, because his father had not done what they wanted of him and Yami was the weak link between the two of them.

So they chose to pick on him again. To try and push his hand, make him give in to their will and do as they wished.

" _Three days. That's all. Tell him to be on the look out…and tell him he might also want some actual firewall for that laptop of his. You would think with you as his cousin, he would have known to have a better one. Ta-ta, Arkana_ "

"Ta-ta? Who the fuck says that?" Yami hissed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Just my luck that my cousin would have a fucking weirdo stalking him and saying 'Ta-ta' as a farewell."

Yami opened his mouth to protest and then shrugged. "I can't even argue that."

Seto sighed and shook his head while Yugi raised an eyebrow at him in question before shaking his head as well.

"Yami."

The red-eyed teen went from staring at the email to looking over at the brunet who glanced towards the glass doors and then led the way outside; Yami hesitated for a moment and then signed out of the email before closing the laptop and following him out, getting to his side where Seto shut the door and led him a few feet out into the yard.

"What are you doing in there?"

Yami blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I  _mean_ that you would rather talk to that little shit than you would your own  _cousin_ immediately after your laptop was hacked."

"I didn't think it was that big a deal, Seto. I called to ask him if his had been similarly attacked but it was not. He offered to come help me with it and said that the girl, Rebecca, could maybe fix it because she's a computer geek. For fuck's sake, Seto, it's not like I was trying to fuck him against the table or something."

"What is this between you two anyways? A bit of flirting and an unrequited  _crush_?" the brunet spat, his expression only softening momentarily when Yami flinched at the hatred in his voice. "Let it go."

Yami looked away from him and then chewed his cheek hard. "I…"

"Look, Yami, you're not a kid. And I'm not going to let you act like one. You are  _not_ about to throw your life away for that… _brat_ in there. You are _responsible_ and you  _know_ what the right choice is. You're matured. You can't be that scared little boy anymore."

He knew that he wasn't saying it to hurt him but the pain laced through him regardless, a harsh slap of reality that made his skin burn and his heart seem to both skip a beat and lose its steady pace to adopt a much slower one as if it was too scared to make too much noise as if Seto might somehow hear it behind his ribs.

"You are not stupid enough to throw yourself away on a high school crush, Yami. He has been using you. And you know as well as I that nothing will last between the two of you. He's going to get bored and then he's going to throw you away. That's all he's ever done. He's only  _ever_  hurt you."

For a long time Yami could not formulate an answer and then finally, when he looked over again, the air around him vibrated with pure anger. "Seto, you don't understand. I am not crushing on him. I am…"—since when did the words become so hard to say?—"in love with him. And if I were to meet him a million times, in a million lives, I would fall in love with him all over again.  _Every_ time."

"Oh right, Yami, you think you're in love with him? Fuck you." The brunet shook his head, his eyes shooting daggers at the red-eyed teen in front of him, glaring fiercely. "You were not even his first. Did you ever stop to think that he's probably got a bunch of fucking baggage and a  _shit load_ of issues he has to work out before he could  _ever_ love someone else? And do you really want to be the boy who caught the STD from some insignificant slut who looks like him?"

Yami blinked once. "It doesn't matter who was first, only who is last."

Time seemed to explode forward suddenly and things were rapidly begging to spin out of control before the blue-eyed teen shook himself free of it and glared. "How do you suggest you are going to fit into his self-absorbed little life, Yami? You can't just fucking trail around behind him like some kind of lost puppy dog. It's pathetic and you are far too good for that stupid shit."

The red-eyed teen stayed quiet for a moment.

"You know as well as I that he's never going to get anywhere in life. You can't seriously expect anyone to give him a second glance. Why would you _possibly_ tie yourself to someone so insignificant?"

"Stop it," Yami snapped viciously, bristling at the slight overtone of complete disdain that provoked his hostility. "And aside from that, Yugi is perfectly capable of living any life he so desires, and so am I. If he would have me, I would gladly live any life he wishes."

The doorknob twisted and both of their heads snapped viciously towards the newcomer, Yami mellowing after a moment while Seto bristled further.

"You. You have some serious explaining to do." The tall teen took a step towards him and Yami froze with wide eyes while Yugi stared with an unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry."

It was simple, quiet and steady.

But it did nothing to satisfy the brunet who snatched his arm and made the shorter teen flinch back.

"Do not speak to him like that," Yami said in a soft and dangerous voice, the words carrying through the stale air like fire, crackling and burning. "If you hurt him, I will hurt you more."

Both of them froze at this statement and Yugi went bug-eyed while Seto turned an incredulous look at him; Yami stood a few mere steps away, eyes sharp and blazing, the air seeming to ripple and vibrate with anger around him, his lips drawn into a tight line but his body seemingly relaxed despite the way he stood taller and had a challenging gleam to his dark gaze.

Seto released him and glared at his youngest cousin. "Yami, I don't have to play the polite cousin. Not after all the shit he's brought and what I've watched you go through over the past few months. Honestly, what the fuck do I care for him? But  _you_ are my cousin, damn it. And I don't want to see you get hurt anymore."

Yugi suddenly barked out a laugh that had a pair of eyes of ice and fire staring at him. "Are you trying to forbid him from seeing me?"

"I had sex with him," Yami suddenly stated.

Yugi and Seto stared at him in surprise, Yugi a little blindsided by the comment while Seto was just frustrated by the fact that he was bringing up something so obvious and stupid.

"Well no shit. They have videos of that crap as blackmail, moron," the brunet spat.

"No, yesterday—last night if you count the beginning of the sunset as the end of a day," Yami explained, shrugging a shoulder lazily even as Seto's eyes burned holes into his skin and made his muscles twitch beneath his golden-bronze skin. "In his bathroom. On the floor. Not the most comfortable place or position ever, but yeah. Just thought that if you wanted to dig into someone, you should probably go after the one who has initiated sex the most between us…"

Veins stood out on the brunet's forehead when he turned towards Yugi, the look passing between them murderous.

"I told you it mattered who was  _last_ ," Yami stated, making both of them look at him again.

"Yami, I will never mention this again and I'll even fucking ignore it for the rest of my life like the fucking plague if I have to, but  _please_ don't fucking speak to him again.  _Or_ see him anymore."

Red eyes flickered towards Yugi and then back again.

And Seto knew he had just lost this fight. Yami was stupid for the kid. And the only thing more fighting would do was alienate Yami from him completely. He wouldn't risk that. Yami was his cousin and as much as they infuriated each other at times, he loved the shit out of the stupid red-eyed boy.

"Fine, Yami. You will do what you think is right for you, and I will live with it."

He wanted to say so much more but instead Yami turned his attention away from him to look into the trees, the thick ivy and the dying grass, the ground that would soon begin to give birth to new plant life in a few months' time. When he turned back, he merely nodded and then pushed past them to head inside, not sparing a second glance even as the two followed him in.

"About time," Rebecca complained from the couch.

"My apologies," Yami offered curtly, walking around the couch to take a seat. "Family matters and all that to attend to. By the way, how is your grandfather?"

She looked startled, as did Yugi even though he merely hid it away to take a seat on the edge of the couch's armrest, watching as Seto took the white loveseat with a sharp gleam to his steel-blue eyes.

"He…he's okay."

"Good."

And that was the extent of the conversation. Yugi felt so awkward and out of place now that his childhood friend and Yami's cousin were in the picture. Alone with Yami was much more bearable. Now it was just impossible to not feel strange as all fuck because of their presence in the room.

"I couldn't give less of a shit about you!" the blonde screamed suddenly, her high-pitched voice throwing them all for a loop; Yugi was well aware that he got loud as all fuck, so he was used to deafening noises like this, but he had to wonder if she had just burst his eardrums. "I couldn't care less about your stupid laptop either. I'm only here for Yugi. Because I love him and he loves me. That's why he won't say it to you. Because he only loves  _me_!"

For a long minute no one said anything, and then Seto was looking at Yugi as if for confirmation but Yugi was busy gawking at the only girl in the room and Yami merely tilted his head and leveled her with a look that a bird of prey would give a mouse before tearing it open with its sharp beak. So she was mad that he asked about her grandfather, that he even knew about his condition. She saw it as a weakness and now she was lashing out. She wouldn't get out of this unscathed. But then, Yami didn't think he would either.

"Well then, while we are working on total honesty," Yami announced, crossing his legs as he sat back further into the couch. "It's always been more than sex. It's art. Perfection, if I do say so myself. Near-death experiences, truly."

Yugi blushed furiously. Seto curled his lip slightly.

Rebecca bared her teeth in a snarl. "You'll have another one in a minute if you keep talking about  _my_ Yugi like that."

"Surely you must know I could destroy you," Yami sneered at her, glaring fiercely before turning away again. "But you're safe…for now."

"Fuck off," she spat, looking ready to scream.

"Now, now, Rebecca, be civil," he taunted.

Seto snorted in amusement. "Yami, stop fucking with the American's head," he chided. "You know they're slower than we are."

Yami burst out laughing and Yugi gawked while Rebecca looked ready to jump up and attack him.

"I'm slow?" she seethed. "Then tell me how I know over fifteen different languages and can ever read Egyptian hieroglyphics and ancient Sumerian."

"I can speak over seventy-two," Seto snapped back while Yami started typing into the computer, searching the screen with his eyes but not bothering to look up.

"What? No you can't!"

"I do business all over the world. You had better believe I know all the languages I could possibly need in order to keep a client from scamming me," the brunet hissed at her before turning his attention back to his red-eyed cousin. "Well?"

"Still debugging but so far it's working."

"Of course it is. I designed it."

It came out snide but Yami still snorted out a laugh and Yugi and Rebecca shared a look of confusion at the action because even Seto looked amused now.

"Did I mention that Yami knows sixty-six languages himself?" the brunet continued suddenly.

Rebecca went still and glared furiously. "There's no way!"

"His father is an ambassador. Of course he knows different languages, idiot."

"I am  _not_ an idiot!" She leaned forward, pressed slightly into Yami's side, the words bellowing into his ear as she yelled it out at him angrily, viciously, cruelly.

"Stop screaming in my ear!" Yami snarled, rounding on her.

She recoiled with wide eyes and then turned to Yugi immediately. "Yugi!"

He looked at her awkwardly and then glanced at Yami who was glaring at her and didn't have to look at Seto to know the blue eyes were burning straight into his skin like fire. "Rebecca, you're in Yami's house…that kind of means I don't have any jurisdiction over here."

Seto barked out a laugh at the statement but Rebecca merely said, "You would think that if you're going to fuck someone, the least they could do is let you have a little jurisdiction in their house" in such a spiteful voice that Yugi looked like he had been stabbed and Yami went bug-eyed next to her.

Red and blue-violet eyes locked for a moment but separated just as fast.

* * *

"Seto."

He turned around after a moment, raising an eyebrow at the shorter teen.

"You can say what you like about me," Yami stated softly, his tone coming out calm and even and completely empty of malice, "because the stress I have burdened you with recently has been terrible. I apologize to you for everything that has happened."

His eyes glinted and he went to open his mouth.

"But  _never_  say that I do not love him. And you will never stop me from seeing him."

Yami turned on his heel and walked back inside, locking the door after him.

Seto watched the wooden barrier for a moment and then sighed softly before turning away. Yami was going to be hurting a lot more than he was anything else.

But that was okay.

Maybe Yami needed to hurt before he could heal.

* * *

"Eh, fuck it," he snorted, waving a hand dismissively.

"Bakura!" she chided, laughing. "I thought you said you weren't going to curse so much!"

He opened his mouth to argue but he had agreed to it, so instead he muttered, "Well, there goes all of my fucking attempts at not fucking cursing" thoughtfully, causing his mother to laugh a little more, shaking her head in amusement at her son's behavior.

She opened her mouth to say something or other—she wasn't really sure whether she was going to chide him again or just laugh some more, maybe add a little to his colorful vocabulary—but there was a knock on the door and his attention shot to it in surprise.

A single glance between them said they were thinking the exact same thing—it was late, past midnight; no one should have been over there.

The next knock was a broken noise, almost as if they were scared to do it again, and she cast her son a curious look when he furrowed his brows and started towards the door with an irritated, "Hold your fucking horses, I'm fucking coming!"

"Bakura!" she snorted, laughing again despite the odd situation.

Bakura snickered in amusement but his laughter died immediately when he opened the door; he was trembling, eyes dilated and wide and if he hadn't just spent twenty minutes with his mom talking about what they were going to do to convert the spare room into a nursery—and he sure as fuck would never have dreamed this up because he didn't  _do_ babies and planning ahead and all of that—then he would have thought he was having some weird half-assed nightmare.

"Fucking Ra, you look like  _shit_ ," he breathed, too amazed to really think of filtering his words, but his statement, stunned and a little horrified with a small splash of fear, had his mother going to see what was going on from her spot in the kitchen.

"Oh, Atem…"

He didn't respond to his name and Bakura had a moment where he couldn't figure out why those red eyes were so scared, why his frame was wracked with such violent tremors, and then somehow his tired mind found it—Yami was taking him up on his offer. And while that would hardly merit such a response from another person, Yami was scared shitless and had no idea what he was doing and if Bakura was honest with himself, he was having difficulty believing that his cousin actually understood where he was either.

"Mom, can you go…? I need to…" He couldn't find it in himself to complete either of those statements, drawing in a breath that felt poisoned and finally tearing his eyes away from his trembling cousin's to look over his shoulder at her. For a moment she was frozen, staring, obviously visibly startled by her nephew's state, and she almost missed what he said completely, taking a long second for her to pull her gaze away and look at him.

Bakura had one of those split second moments where he wanted to close the door and pretend that hadn't happened or at least talk to his mom in private for a moment, but then he realized immediately, due to that strange understanding they had between them that if he closed the door for even a single second, Yami would flee. As it was, he thought that maybe the trembling came both from fear and the sheer will to remain where he was, hashing it out with his fight-or-flight instinct.

It explained the dilated pupils and the fear that Bakura thought he could almost smell in the air. Then again, it wouldn't surprise him if Yami was sweating; he was practically vibrating where he stood.

"O-okay…"

He didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that Yami was now looking down the street, at where he  _could_ be, where he thought he  _should_ be, where he  _wanted_ to be. Bakura had to give him credit; the kid had balls to do this because anyone else and they would have fled with their tail between their legs _far_ before he even got to the door.

He only turned back when she was upstairs, occasionally glancing at the door with worried eyes but trusting her son enough to leave the room; Yami was breathing a little harder now and his spine was ramrod straight and now that Bakura was really looking at him, he could see the beads of sweat that were beginning to build up on his skin.

"Shit…fucking…"

What was he supposed to do now?

He struggled violently for the answer but Yami was the one who gave it to him; for a second he was confused by what was going on, but then the smaller teen took a shaky step inside, looking over his shoulder and around a couple of times, eyes darting every which way before he managed to draw in a single breath and push himself all the way into the house.

Bakura had seen Yami do this kind of thing before. More than once, but it was rare that he got shaken, so it was almost impossible to see this kind of thing in the first place.

But the first few times he had been over at their house, when Bakura actually managed to make him come with him, if he made a mistake he would look like he had just died inside and a look would cross his face—like he was lost and bleeding on the inside and couldn't think straight—before it would disappear and he forced himself to do whatever it was he had to.

It had taken a little while for Bakura to realize what that look even meant. Yami didn't cower at raised voices and he could fight, but he never tried against parental or authority figures. Kids, he could lash out until one of them couldn't move anymore but when it came to an adult, he broke a little and then waited for punishment.

So it shouldn't have really surprised him that while he was lost as to what to do, Yami would force himself to rally up and take the first step he needed to; it was a natural thing for him to do, no matter how shaken he was.

He managed to close the door and Yami's head whipped around to stare at it for a second, as if he was contemplating the odds of getting past him and outside if he needed to now that it was closed. Bakura hated bugs, which was really the only reason he shut it in the first place, but what was a few bugs opposed to making Yami feel better about what he was doing?

Yami stared at the door blankly when it opened again and for a second Bakura thought he might bolt but he seemed mollified enough just because it was no longer shut that he managed to make his way towards the kitchen, constantly glancing back to make sure the albino hadn't closed his only escape route again.

True,  _genuine_ terror did strange things to people. He had no doubt that if Yami didn't have that escape route and things blew up and he couldn't keep his head about him and succumbed to his need to run, he would turn into a hyperventilating mess on the floor, a pile of limbs with heavy breathing, or he would end up hurting himself in his haste to get the door open.

Bakura remembered the  _one_ time that Yami had gone into the basement with him to get something and the lights had gone out his cousin had freaked out and shot up the stairs and in his fear he couldn't remember how to use the door; the albino had barely gotten a second to realize what had happened before he heard the wood tearing and chipping and realized Yami was clawing it open in desperation. At first Bakura had thought he was just hearing things, jumping to conclusions, but then he heard his cousin's broken breathing and had grown hyperaware of everything wrong with the situation.

When he had tried to get at the doorknob Yami had attacked him violently, possibly thinking that he was trying to stop him due to the fact that he had had to push him away some, and by the time his mom got the door open his red-eyed cousin's hands were torn open and his nails were broken and bleeding and he was breathing so hard he could have been mistaken for a snoring bear.

"Yami…"

At least he recognized his name because Bakura didn't know what he would do if he didn't; the smaller boy's head snapped around, regarding him both curiously and fearfully, his body still moving mechanically towards the chairs in order to take a seat.

Bakura guessed it was a good thing that he had gotten Yami to come over more often than not over the summer under the ruse of needing his help for something but really just to see if he could figure out what the hell his dad had actually done to him; on the surface Yami didn't look traumatized. In fact, he looked far from it, but if you got him in a secluded space with no escape visible to him and no light source, he was a mess of terror and an abnormally violent person.

"You…you said…"

Bakura barely held back the flinch that threatened to take over his features when he saw the desperation that lingered all along the edges of his irises, untouched by his dilated pupils and leaving him feeling as if someone had just gutted him like a fish.

"Yeah, I did," he agreed, forcing his voice to come out level and calm despite how much Yami's terror freaked him out. "So, you wanted to talk…?"

His cousin nodded and seemed to fall into the chair when he tried to sit, his body suddenly an uncontrollable weight; his nerves were jumping beneath his skin, almost like pins and needles were sticking themselves into his bones and leaving him that much more hyperaware of his situation. But that was impossible because he couldn't  _possibly_ be more aware than he already was.

His body was already on sensory overload and if he wasn't careful he thought he might fall into his more violent persona and do something stupid in his current state. He was known for that when he was scared…which was a no-win situation because the thought of it made him even more fearful.

But he honestly had to admit that he didn't understand why he was here in the first place. Somehow he had convinced himself he was okay, that it didn't matter that he was gay, and he'd even gotten through his mother turning her back on him without tears, and yet here he was.

Somewhere in the crossed wires in his head, he was highly aware of the fact that he had shut off his emotions to deal with his parents and to get through the stress at school with Joey and the others that suddenly thought he was weak because of his sexuality and choosing to sleep with Yugi. He had even gotten through the stupid TV reporters who had barged onto school property.

So what the hell was wrong with him? Why was he freaking out now?

He should have been okay…

He  _had_  been okay until a few hours ago.

But as soon as Rebecca and Yugi and Seto left, something in him had either caved or snapped or broken in half.

Bakura watched him for a moment and then started to take a seat but realized that Yami needed to be able to watch him or else he would freak out; instead he took up the task of moving over to the fridge and leaning against it, watching him as red eyes studied his posture. If he didn't know his cousin so well, he was pretty sure all hell would have broken out by this point.

He wasn't stupid. He remembered when he had admitted to his mom that he thought he might have been bisexual. It'd been pretty terrifying and strange and so disturbing to him that he had nearly chickened out more than once. Of course, his bisexuality had yet to be explored because he really hadn't given much of a fuck about dating in the first place but had been a little disturbed by the fact that he'd gotten a little hot and bothered watching a movie where the male character had gotten undressed.

He hadn't experimented at all, not because he was afraid to but purely because he had yet to find someone to interest him enough to do it, and here his cousin was, definitely homosexual and very  _well_ -experimented.

He still had yet to figure out how Yami managed to get Mai to sleep with him because he honestly kind of wanted to do it, had for a year now, actually, but at the same time he really couldn't care less.

And the only reason he had even confided in that possibility was because he knew his mom and dad wouldn't give a fuck in the first place. Sexuality was hardly something they cared about, although his mom had asked him very nicely if he would knock up a girl just for the sake of having a grandchild if his sister turned out to be lesbian when she was born. It was an ongoing joke among the three of them for the time being, but he was pretty sure his mom was dead serious about it if his sister did turn out to be gay.

Either way, his fears had been little and far between. It was mostly only about how he would tell them, not about how they would react, trying to deal with his own embarrassment at the thought of it. And yes, at the time, he  _had_ thought that being bisexual was a little embarrassing, almost as if he was being greedy because he couldn't figure out which fucking gender he wanted.

But Bakura had the feeling that if Yami had never been forced  _out_ of the closet he would still be hiding in there happily, married off to some girl at his parents' request and somehow managing to get it up for her—probably through Viagra like he had done with Mai.

Or maybe Yami wouldn't have done anything. Maybe he would have just never gone into that relationship all the way; his emotional detachment would be harsh enough for whoever his dear little wife would be but with a physical one as well? Bakura could hardly see her staying faithful and he had a feeling that his cousin hated infidelity—if his reaction to movies with cheating spouses was anything to go by—but he knew that for his own sake he wouldn't bring it out in the open either.

And all for the sole reason that he couldn't face his parents if they knew.

And now they knew and Yami had gotten thrown aside like trash.

But that was far from what had triggered whatever this break was Yami that was having. Because if it was it would have happened before.

And the only thing he could think of that would do this, scare him so badly and leave him so scarred, was Yugi.

The thought brought about the idea of skinning the kid alive but he pushed it away just long enough to breathe a small huff of an exhale and look at him for a long moment; he was already pissed off at the kid purely because he felt that the runt was nowhere  _near_ worth his cousin's time and the bastard was _far_ from amusing with his little absence at the hospital. Or his jumping on tables and saying it was a fabricated photo. Or taking Yami to that concert that he  _knew_ Yami shouldn't have gone to. And he didn't even want to get started on that fucking kiss on television.

"You know, you have a lot of balls."

Yami turned his attention towards him, blinking in confusion because the statement was normally snide in its tone and this time it was rather warm and simple, and if he really squinted, tilted his head and tried to see farther into what it was, he could just find a trace of comfort in there.

"I mean, I don't know another person who could do the shit—or even  _half_ —of what you've done." The red-eyed teen stared blankly at him and Bakura quirked his lips up into a half-smirk despite how dead serious his gaze was, that mocking quality his coffee brown eyes always held lingering around his pupils but not bleeding out to claim the rest of his irises. "You know, most people would actually have committed suicide by this point if they were in your shoes. And that's just because of your parents. I mean, fuck, your parents are—"

"Bakura…"

He held his hands up in surrender but now that he had gotten a statement out, Yami was starting to relax a little; it would take a while, but he was pretty sure he could get him to the point that he would be calm enough to just talk instead of staring at him like he wanted Bakura to pull a miracle out of his ass.

"You know, being gay isn't a bad thing," he stated, taking another route that made Yami raise an eyebrow and stare at him almost cynically; he nearly laughed because, in his situation, he would have been doing the same thing just with a lot more curse words spilling from his mouth like saliva and a raised voice. "Think of it this way, Yami. Do you plan on murdering someone?"

He shook his head slowly, confused by the direction the conversation had taken.

"Raping someone?"

Again he shook his head.

"Kidnap—?"

"Ra, Bakura, no!" he snapped, rolling his eyes and turning away again, frustration coursing through him for a split second before his head snapped around, regarding him in shock; how had he not realized what he was doing? "That's not…I don't…I'm not worried about…"

"Oh don't even pretend, Yami. Let's be serious right now," the albino muttered, rolling his eyes and glancing at the door because he swore he could  _hear_  a bug coming across the floor; Ra, he hated bugs. "Do me the courtesy of  _not_ denying everything, hmm?"

Yami started to open his mouth to snap that he wasn't denying anything but it died on his tongue because, if he was honest with himself, he was pretty sure he had been denying it for a long time; even though he had accepted the  _idea_ of being gay, he hadn't truly  _applied_ it to himself. It was more an abstract concept that dwelled in the back of his mind but left nothing to be understood or desired or even truly accepted.

So no, Yami really hadn't come to terms with the fact that he was gay. He'd faked it, manipulated his thought process to accept the words next to his name, but he hadn't dwelled on it and because he hadn't thought about it, it was just a phrase and nothing more. He could say he was gay with a straight face and it didn't affect him, purely because he didn't let it enter his mind for more than that single second.

Otherwise it was back in his unconscious and he could pretend he accepted it but know he really didn't, that he was still so terrified by it all.

And why shouldn't he be?

First his parents ditched him and half the time he kind of expected that they would do it as well, that one day Malik and Seto and Bakura would just get freaked out or grossed out and just leave him to his own devices. He knew how unlikely it was, how it would never truly happen, but it was still alive in the back of his mind.

And even  _with_ his general acceptance of homosexuality and being unable to apply it to himself, he couldn't do anything right. He couldn't make Yugi give a true fuck about him. Hell, he was going out with that bitch Rebecca.

He grimaced slightly.

No, she wasn't a bitch.

She was jealous and territorial and scared of losing Yugi's affections.

Just like he was.

They were both in the same boat but they wanted to go different directions and so they ended up flipping it over and drowning under the surface.

The difference, however, was that Yugi was actually  _willing_ to go out with her, in public, where he could be seen and observed, regardless of the reason _why_.

Yami wasn't going to get that. He would never get that from Yugi…

"I'm sorry…" he muttered, chewing his cheek and watching as his cousin turned to him with an incredulous look but shook it off after a moment, realizing what he meant by the apology and recognizing it in terms of his denial rather than his actual predicament; he could tell by his face that Bakura really wanted to sink his teeth into him for apologizing all over again. "I won't deny anything."

"Okay, so let's see. The last few weeks you've been  _pretending_ that you're all fine and dandy," he commented a little harshly, but the blow wasn't really meant to come out that way so Yami showed him the ease of dismissing it without argument. But Yami openly stared when the next words out his mouth were, "So who bottoms the most? Cause I mean, you came to the hospital limping and—"

"Ra, kill me now."

Bakura snickered in amusement; this was definitely not the way to go as far as most conversations about homosexuality went but this was Yami and Yami was unpredictable and certain approaches worked far better than others. He could push his buttons for a little while before he would get annoyed and then he would get the information out of him without having to pull teeth.

"—when I called you up that day, you said you were fucking him. I'm honestly curious. Who bottoms the most?"

Yami rubbed his temples. "Does it matter?"

"No, but I'm  _curious_. Give me  _something_ to work with, Yami."

"Oh my fucking…" He shook his head and looked at him for a moment; he knew what he was doing and he had to admit that he was perfectly right to take that approach because the fear was starting to melt away some and the frustration was building to take place as his most prominent emotion. "You know, when you extended this offer, I didn't think you would want to talk about my sex life."

"Fuck knows I don't have one," he muttered, waving dismissively. "So come on, tell me."

"Do you plan to picture it in your head or something? Because that's seriously disturbing."

"You're disgusting. Now tell me."

"You're so annoying. And weird. Who asks that kind of question? I mean  _seriously_!"

"Yami, you're not getting out of it."

He blew out a breath, looking away and letting his eyes take in the door. "Yugi does."

"But you've bottomed before, right?"

"Well, duh," he snapped, turning his head towards him, irritated by his own confusion towards the question, because honestly, what the fuck did that have to do with anything? "You guys grilled me at the hospital. Why the hell are you even asking me this?"

"Because I've always heard that the ones in the most denial have to top or else they really  _have_ to accept the fact that they are having some kind of crisis with their sexuality," Bakura snickered, smirking when his cousin blinked wide eyes and tilted his head both curiously and unhappily. "I mean, from the top position, it's just like being with a girl, right? You're the one in control. You're the one who thrusts and they're the ones on their back…or against the wall, or the floor or the kitchen table, maybe against a glass door where everyone can see you—"

"You're disgusting!"

Bakura burst out laughing and shook his head, holding his hands up. "Seems like a common fantasy for everyone else," he snickered, smirking at the red tint in Yami's skin. "Apparently beds aren't too popular anymore."

"Oh my god, stop.  _Please_."

"I  _could_ , but we both know I won't."

"Ra, kill me."

"He can't hear you right now. This is Bakura time."

Yami rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling the smallest bit, tapping his nails against his knee thoughtfully.

"You know, maybe I should become a psychologist—"

"Are you serious right now?" Yami cried incredulously, looking at him as his brown-eyed cousin continued laughing before shaking his head.

"See that? Look at that, Yami. You  _don't_ look like you want to run this time."

He frowned slightly but acknowledged the statement with a single small incline of his head, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"So, joking aside," he announced, making his cousin tilt his head in curiosity, "for as long as I've known you, you've never felt anything towards anyone. You've been pretty much asexual. So, how did you end up…?"

"Mokuba's accident happened, I got drunk off my ass…fucked Yugi."

Bakura started to burst out laughing but then managed to calm it to a few uneven snorts and snickers that made Yami smirk slightly in amusement. "Oh fuck. You're a real mess, aren't you?"

He shrugged simply.

"Well, it definitely makes sense, you know," he commented casually, thoughtfully, at ease now that Yami didn't look like he was going to run anytime soon. "You never showed any interest in anyone because you didn't think you were  _allowed_ to be gay. And then the girls never interested you  _because_ you're gay."

Yami nodded a little and looked away. Aside from what he suspected to be automatic body reactions that he thought might have been drilled into his being from his constant lectures from his father about how he should treat a woman, he had never been aroused. Mai was everything that his father wanted him to have in a wife.

He nearly choked on the thought, feeling sick for using her so many times. But he knew if he ever apologized, she would laugh it off and tell him it was fine, that she didn't mind him experimenting with her, didn't want him to say sorry for needing help with the media, didn't care about him trying to make Yugi jealous through her. She would probably admonish him for not making it work out better as far as making the other teen jealous, possibly going as far as to try teaching him if he offended her badly enough with the news. And he thought losing Yugi to Rebecca was pretty offensive enough for her to want to do it if he ever told her.

"And now we're going to jump straight into it because I'm tired of trying my hand at small talk," he announced, straightening from his leaned position and going over to the door to shut it because he really fucking  _hated_ bugs; they were too annoying and they just never left you alone. "So what happened with Yugi?"

Yami stayed quiet for a moment. "I don't know if I should tell you. You might end up trying to kill him."

Bakura rolled his eyes but Yami was far from off mark; if he got the right motivation, he would skin him. There would be no hesitation as far as he was concerned.

"He's…going out with a girl."

"That blonde chick from the hospital?"

"Yeah, her. Rebecca Hawkins."

"Fucking pedophile."

"She's fourteen."

"Fuck no she isn't!" Bakura barked, shaking his head in denial. "She's fucking tiny. She's like fucking twelve—at the most."

Yami shook his head. "She's fourteen and she's going out with him on a date."

The silver-haired teen stared for a moment and then shook his head slightly. "That's fucked up. I see why you're so fucking  _depressing_  now."

"Bakura—"

"No, I mean, seriously," he objected, shaking his head. "That fucker rolls around in the sheets with you  _constantly_ and then he decides that he's going to go off and date some blonde bitch who looks like she's a preteen."

"It's his choice."

"Yeah, but he's a fucking dipshit for doing it anyways," Bakura snapped, rolling his eyes.

"We're not dating."

"I know that. But so what? You've said it yourself that you're in love with the idiot. You don't think he could have been a little bit more considerate when he decided to do this shit?"

"Look, I don't even know if I would have ever gone out on a date with him in the first place. I…" He trailed off, unable to continue, and his cousin stared at him for a long time through narrowed dark brown eyes that gleamed practically black.

"So what? That doesn't mean he should be trailing you both along." He stopped short for a moment. "Well…you along, anyways."

Yami didn't comment, instead propping his right elbow on the table and putting his chin in his hand, watching him silently.

"This Rebecca chick…"

"He made a deal to go out with her if she would help with the laptop."

"So he's using her."

"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that he would rather date her than he would me." He paused. "Because I'm his dirty little secret, his fuck buddy, the one he  _won't_ commit to."

Bakura wished he had an argument but he didn't and even Yami knew that. He was right; Yami was the one who Yugi would never commit to being with, would never be seen on dates with. He was the one that Yugi would run to when things got stressful and he wanted a fuck with no strings attached.

But it was Yami's fault for ever agreeing to it in the first place.

He consciously let this happen.

Bakura was starting to wonder if maybe Yami wasn't so pained that Yugi had chosen Rebecca over him, even for this little date, but rather that he was scared it meant that he had come out on television and been exposed as a homosexual only to have it be for nothing as far as his involvement with Yugi went.

He got disowned, publicly humiliated, the kids at school always tried to get in his pants now because he and Yugi broke the social structure everyone seemed to give so much of a fuck about, and the one he  _wasn't_ ashamed of in the situation was going to be turning his back on him too.

He recoiled a little when he realized that Yami had his face covered and his shoulders were shaking.

"Oh Ra, I don't know how to deal with tears," he groaned.

Yami snorted out a laugh and shook his head. "I'm an idiot. I should never have let it continue. This is my fault. I fucked up. I don't even blame him for doing this."

Bakura thanked his great sense of balance because he was honestly a second away from falling over with the words.

"I would choose something simple and easy over this shit too if I was given the choice."

"Oh fuck you, no you wouldn't," he snapped, rolling his eyes and shaking his head when Yami looked over; if he couldn't see the tears on his cheeks he would never have guessed he was crying in the first place because there was no redness and nothing to show he had done so but the trails on his skin. "You love the little bastard. If you didn't, this whole thing wouldn't bother you. And if you were given the choice, because of those stupid feelings you have, you would choose him anyways. Don't even fuck with me."

"…I wish I didn't."

"Wishing won't get you anywhere."

He couldn't honestly keep track of how many wishes he had; there was the one that Yugi would return his affections and actually give a shit about him, love him back because the gods knew he needed that. There was the one that if Yugi didn't, then he could just go back to the way things were. There was that one that he wished he  _wasn't_  like this—gay and ashamed of himself. There was that one where he wished he wasn't so afraid of all the consequences his choices brought with them. There was the one where he wished he was actually  _worth_ as much attention as Yugi was going to give Rebecca when he chose her.

Mostly, the one that was most prominent, however, was the one that he had never come to Japan in the first place.

So that he would never have met Yugi.

So that he wouldn't have been disowned and though he knew his life would  _suck_ , he would at least have some kind of diluted and disgusting form of protection and safety from his pathetic parents. A path in life paved out for him.

So that he  _wouldn't_ hate himself so much that he felt disgusting just being in his own skin.

Yami didn't tell his cousin that as far as he was concerned, that was really all he had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	19. My Yami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter is rated MA (Mature Adult) for mentions of animal abuse, sexual content (lemon), mentions of abuse, mentions of rape attempts and mild homosexual slander  
> Lemon Warning: You should know the drill but in case you don't...If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "Okay, you convinced me" and skip to "Shouldn't I be the one giving thanks? I mean...". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to get to the part where the lemon is finished.  
> Lemon Note: This lemon is actually really important to the story as well.  
> Mentions of abuse pertaining to Yami and his father's argument are shown in the first part of chapter as well as animal abuse that you got a hint at earlier that is a little bit more described but not too badly. Might make you want to throw up if you're like me at all...If you ARE like me (I admit it, I'm weak when it comes to animals being hurt), then skip to the second part right after Yami says that his father is a monster. Anyways, past that, mentions of rape attempts are shown in first part of chapter but NONE of them are graphic. A rape attempt is put in a little more detail in the ninth part of chapter. Mild homosexual slander is used in the fourth part of the chapter.

Chapter XIX: My Yami

Three days after the laptop incident, it was broadcasted all over the world, the videos going viral. The titles? "Ambassador's Wife Disowns Son After Finding Out He's Gay" and the second? "Ambassador's Son Disowned By Ambassador After Coming Out" and the final video? "Ambassador's Son Gets Down And Dirty With Boy".

Yami had thrown up watching the first one, in which he was speaking to his mom and she was crying and the fight that broke out and his statement—Ra, his statement, his begging her to understand him—was posted everywhere online now. Videos were made of him begging her to understand him on repeat, endless loops of the same clip. Videos were made of her final act of walking out on him.

And all the comments—most people supported Yami, said that it was disgusting what they did, that no one should ever turn their back on their children like they had. Others asked why this was such a big deal in the first place because just because he was the ambassador's son didn't mean that he should be so famous. Others said that they should leave him the fuck alone because it had to be getting on his nerves already and it was none of their business anyways.

His father's video caused so much uproar. They had the video of him beating him. Of how he threw him down the stairs—technically, he punched him and then grabbed him and shoved him and Yami had gone over the stairs like a domino, toppling in a pool of limbs and clothing—of how he was rushed to the hospital by Yugi who was pixilated out of the video.

Obviously they had nothing against him.

And the third video…

He got emails asking people to fuck them  _both_ now, some claiming that the noises they made were delicious, some claiming that they wanted to see them in action in front of them… He got emails asking if he and Yugicould fuck  _them_ now. A bunch of openly gay guys at school tried to pin him down and take a turn on him because that video was just  _that_ fucking great.

Apparently when he spoke to Yugi it was dirty talk. Mild but  _still_ dirty enough to gain everyone's attention. And apparently when he pounded him into the mattress, it was so arousing to everyone else that it was purely sickening. And oh, how could he forget the comments about how they would love a run with him, how he should become a porn star, how he should make more of them? Others said it was no wonder he got disowned if he was going to  _broadcast_ it and others asked how the fuck they ended up watching this—all three of them were released two hours apart and all of them self-played on Youtube and Dailymotion and all the other popular video sites—while others said it was sick to put this shit on the internet.

Some of them commented on his "mad skills", how Yugi—dubbed the mosaic kid—seemed to like it rough. They said that Yami probably couldn't sleep in that bed anymore…

And oh yes, they were definitely destroying his father's campaign.

So why he got another email from them hoping that he enjoyed the videos, he didn't know.

What he did know, however, was that the person who had done this  _had_ to be American in order to get into the security filters like they had, to hack both sites and play these videos on an endless loop like that. Because, as far as he could remember, America controlled the internet and as long as that remained, he had a feeling it would be near impossible for someone without the power of some big shot corporation to be able to do that.

Which, when he thought about it, seemed to throw Duke and whoever the hell his father was out of the realm of possibilities. Someone else. Seto had mentioned someone else. Apparently that "someone else" who had brought Duke and his father into this was a lot more powerful than he had originally assumed.

Yami rubbed at his temples at the thought, shaking his head; he knew all of about five Americans when it came down to it. There was Duke Devlin, that weird guy he had encountered at the gas station trying to steal some lighters with the American flag tied on his head as a bandanna named "Bandit" Keith, Arkana was  _technically_ American as far as he knew though he commonly claimed he wasn't, Rebecca, and one other whose name escaped him but he had a vague idea of who they were.

"He…he threw you down the stairs," Yugi said softly, trembling as he looked at the video that was still playing in front of them; the entire time that they had been forced to watch with the rest of the world, Yami's computer replayed it the entire two hours before the next video would appear. Yugi had been staring at that screen for an hour now, horrified and looking sick to his stomach.

"My father is a lot worse than just abusive," Yami hissed at him. "He's a fucking monster, that's what he is."

Yugi stared in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When I was five I had a rabbit. He was white with a small splotch of black on his nose and he was the cutest little thing. He was barely a year old."

Yugi didn't interrupt even when Yami went quiet for a long minute.

"One day my father came home from work and he made this stew. I remember thinking it was odd because he  _never_  cooked and it smelled weird and so I didn't touch it." He narrowed his eyes into slits. "My father and mother ate and when he asked me why I wasn't eating I said I wasn't hungry and you know what he said to me?"

Yugi shook his head and his blood froze over with his next statement.

"He said, 'That's your rabbit in your bowl.'"

He nearly threw up.

"And then when I stared at him in shock he told me it was punishment for not getting my homework done," he said, laughing bitterly. "Instead of beating me like normally, he tried to feed me my rabbit. Tell me that he isn't a monster and I swear to Ra, I will break your fucking nose, Yugi."

He felt bile in the back of his throat and had to swallow it back more than once, shaking his head. "Oh my god."

* * *

"Well…you let me do it again so I guess I couldn't have been the worst…"

Yugi laughed and then shook his head. "No I'm sure there were worse drunks than you."

"Ugh, I can't really remember everything…what exactly did I do?"

Yugi laughed harder and Yami furrowed his brows before going red and groaning when his tongue stuck out the left corner of his mouth; honestly, neither of them were exactly sure why they were talking about this of all subjects. Yami had come over an hour ago, wanted to talk to him, and this was the result, though it had taken a long time to get to this point in the first place.

"Oh my Ra!"

"It was the most comical first time ever," Yugi replied, cracking up. "Because then you kept going cross-eyed."

Hands covered his face. "Oh no, no, no…" He let out another groan and then a whimper. "Well…what…what about the kissing?"

Yugi burst out laughing and leaned back into the couch cushions, eyes bright. "Oh my god. Your tongue was like a freaking helicopter. You'd go one way and then the other and then you realized I wasn't doing anything so you kept batting at me and then you got fed up when I didn't do anything so you just went back to being a helicopter."

"Oh no…"

"Oh yes. That was some hilarious shit right there."

"Ugh, why the hell did you even let me have sex with you?"

"Because it…" Yugi thought for a moment and then smiled and shook his head. "It was funny and maybe it wasn't the ideal first time, but it wasn't the worst possible. I mean…geez, you're a little fast when you're piss-faced, but it felt pretty good and besides, I don't know…I just didn't want you to stop."

Yami gave him a weird look. "Why not?"

"I…I think I liked the attention you were giving me," he finally admitted, staring at the TV. "Tea never noticed me unless I was causing trouble so she could reprimand me or I was _in_  trouble so she could stand up for me…And then there was you. You didn't need certain conditions to pay attention to me. You didn't try to be anyone you weren't and you wanted me. I…craved it. And I know how pathetic that is, but…it made sense to me."

Red eyes looked him over for a moment, regarding the smaller teen silently and without judgment which startled the other boy who stared with widened eyes, and then he joked, "Um, no, I think the helicopter kiss is the pathetic thing in this."

"No, that would be the cross-eyed expression you got while we were having sex."

"Oh my Ra… _Why_?"

"Hey, it was kind of adorable, so don't feel bad about it. It was hilarious too, so…" He paused and looked at him curiously. "So hey, was that the first time you ever drank?"

"No, not…well, for the purpose of getting hammered? Totally the first time. But it wasn't the first time I ever touched alcohol…although most of those were refined wines that I got from twelve to fourteen because of my parents. The beer you get at clubs is fucking disgusting."

Yugi couldn't help laughing at him. "What? Did you expect us commoners to have refined wine all the time?"

Yami didn't smile at his joke. Instead his jaw clamped and his head turned away, glaring at the coffee table.

"Yami? I was just joking."

He didn't respond for a long minute and when he finally turned back, he muttered, "Do I honestly look or act like someone above everyone else? Because I don't think of myself that way and if I act that way…"

"No," Yugi replied immediately, shaking his head. "In fact no one would have suspected you were even the ambassador's kid if it weren't for the news media recently. Besides, I was just kidding."

"Yeah, well, obviously I did something wrong if they found out about me being here so easily. Because they shouldn't have been looking for  _Yami_. Although, in retrospect, my parents  _really_ should have let me go by a different last name…but this  _is_ Japan…"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. You kept a low profile. You acted like everyone else. You even took on the name Yami. You kept your grades at their highest and you did everything you were supposed to." He paused and a small bit of warmth, something like fondness, made his skin tingle for a brief second as he allowed himself to continue. "You weren't your average geek because you liked messing around and you sure as hell weren't intimidated by us, but then you're not the average person anyways. I never know how you'll respond to things and you're a lot braver than most people…and if someone looked at you they would take you for an asshole but you're one of the sweetest people I've ever met."

Yami didn't respond for a long time and then finally looked at him. "An asshole?"

Yugi flushed. "Just because you hold yourself the way you do. It practically oozes self-confidence and most people with that much self-confidence are assholes," he replied, sighing softly. "Not to mention you aren't the most conventional with your teasing."

"I wasn't exactly taught to be around other kids. I was raised to be around political figures and you can't show weakness if you're around them. Although I'm a naturally proud person so I guess that would make me look like an asshole, huh?"

Yugi frowned and then bite his lip. "I used to think that everyone knew of you because of your grades and that was the only reason you had friends," he admitted softly, making Yami narrow his eyes. "Because you could give them answers to tests and homework and stuff…and for a while there I was convinced because our first few conversations turned into dogfights. But then I decided that Tea shouldn't really come between us because if she liked you then she liked you…and then we started getting closer and the entire time we were around one another all I could think about was the fact that Mana and Mahado had the right idea about hanging out with you all the time."

Yami turned away and looked at the TV with a sigh. "I didn't ask for this."

"No one asks for this kind of stuff."

Both of them remained perfectly silent for a long time and then Yami muttered, "Who was your first anyways?"

Yugi swallowed hard and then sighed. "You."

"…What?"

"You. I said you. You were my first."

"But you said—"

"You made me mad. I just threw it out there."

"Oh." He stared at the TV blankly for a moment and then sighed. "Well, I'm sorry your first time wasn't the greatest."

"I'm not."

"No?"

"Definitely not."

"Because first times shouldn't be regretted or—?"

"Because I liked it."

"Because it was funny?"

"Because it was you."

"I don't mean anything to you."

"You do. I just don't know what yet."

Yami didn't answer. Yugi didn't expect him to.

* * *

"You know, I could ask how your morning has been, but judging by that peaceful look on your face, I really don't need to, huh?"

Yami turned towards him, startled and wide-eyed, and then smiled a little, tilting his head slightly and giving a lopsided curve of his lips.

"You stayed," he said quietly, honestly awed by the fact.

"I stayed," Yami replied, remaining in his place on the couch and then looking around curiously. "I…would hope that's okay."

Yugi nodded and smiled at him, saying, "It is. I thought maybe you had left when I woke up and you weren't there. It was so quiet out here. But then I smelled coffee…"

Yami turned away and regarded the Styrofoam cup for a moment or two. "I wanted a decaffeinated drink and coffee is really strong. Plus the creamer is always good…" He shrugged. "I actually left for a little while to get it from the café down the street but then I decided to come back."

"I'm glad you did." He went into the living room towards him and then stood at the end of the couch, looking extremely awkward. Yugi had never really expected Yami to stay overnight especially not if he had woken up before Yugi himself did. Yami didn't say anything and Yugi tried to take control of the situation and both had a brief moment of comparing the entire thing to trying to coax a hawk to land in their hand to take a mouse. Both of them were well aware that it was important not to make any sudden movements or make the other feel threatened.

The last time they had been over at his house aside from sex in the bathroom, Yami had gotten up early and left like he always did; they had never really had reason to stick around afterwards. Then again, the situation had been different and things weren't as bad as they were now, but at the same time…

"So…" Yugi fished, testing the water and seeing Yami turn his head, relieved and pacified by the curiosity burning in those red depths. "Are you hungry?"

"Getting there, yes," Yami replied, chewing his cheek as Yugi strolled off into the kitchen and he got up from the couch to follow him.

Yugi stood with the fridge open, leaning against the white door and laying his chin on it, lips pursed. "Um…well, there's not really a lot in the house. I haven't gone shopping and I thought…" He trailed off and both of them knew what he had been about to say; Yami himself had not even expected to turn back around but with all the stress that had overcome him, he wanted to be around someone else and Yugi was the one who fit the profile—wouldn't push him like Seto, wouldn't dance around him like Mokuba, wouldn't criticize and make him the butt of jokes like Bakura and Malik when they were together…

"Um…maybe we could order a pizza or something like that?" Yami suggested, though he felt strange when he looked over his shoulder at the microwave and found that it said it was only twelve in the afternoon. What was the point of ordering a pizza that early and did they even deliver at twelve? "Or…I don't know. I guess I could go to a restaurant and get something to go…?"

The awkward irony of the situation had definitely not escaped either of them; they had no idea how they were supposed to be around each other. Meaningless sex in the bathroom on the floor had not really constituted Yami coming back if he went out for coffee, but when Yugi looked at him he knew that Yami needed him a lot more than he would admit. He was scared and confused and even if he did not wish to talk about it, he wanted to have someone around him; it was more companionship, just  _knowing_  someone was there rather than having to talk to them about everything.

"Well, actually, maybe first we should get a shower?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow and watching as Yami's eyes flickered from the rather lacking contents of the fridge to his face in confusion. "You know, the shower has some interesting features and I don't think the five-cent tour did them justice."

For a moment Yami didn't respond and then his lips pulled up into a smirk. "Oh?"

Yugi grinned. "The five-cent tour is for sight-seers. For the real behind-the-scenes tour, you have to bribe the doorman."

The red eyes sparkled with amusement and a glint of desire. Yugi was definitely doing as Yami needed and they both knew it; how they fell into the pattern of doing what the other needed without words, neither of them understood, but it was incredibly comforting for both of them.

"Really? Well, I can't say I'm above bribery," Yami said with a wider smirk, leaning towards him. "Now…if only I knew what the doorman might like…maybe this would do it?" Yugi gripped the door harder, his nails trying to gain purchase and unable to, when warm lips pressed against his jaw and trailed to his collarbone, pausing halfway to press his tongue out against his flesh and make him tremble before blowing on the wet skin and then continuing in this same pattern to his ear. Yugi felt his bones turn to liquid with the kisses and the soft attention, sighing out a gentle exhale he hadn't even realized left his lips at first.

"I don't know…" he stated playfully, shaking his head as Yami looked at him curiously, eyes narrowing slightly at the sly gleam that entered his blue-violet gaze. "The doorman is a greedy little bastard."

Yami thanked the years he had spent with his father for the ability to keep from laughing or showing the humor he felt on his face, scowling at him. "Very well, okay, fine, but I hope you know that I do not condone such extortion. Compromising my principles is not something I enjoy doing."

"It's a dirty world, Y—" His voice was cut off when Yami pulled his shirt up and grabbed one of his nipples into his mouth, moaning as the taller teen swirled his tongue around the hardening nub and then gasping in surprise when Yami gently nipped him.

"Okay, you convinced me."

Yami was abruptly pushed away, staggering back slightly with the force of the shove, and then Yugi had his hand and was pulling him along in a mad dash towards his room. The red-eyed teen was not sure how it happened, but somehow their pants and boxers were gone before they even got to the bathroom door and Yugi had pulled him inside, turning the shower on and waiting for it to warm. Yami pulled his jacket and shirt off and put them back on the counter just as Yugi grabbed his hand and pulled him inside with him. The taller of the two was still in a small haze but it was barely noticeable as Yugi turned around to face him with a grin and navigated him slowly backwards, backing him up towards the wall; he took one step back and then another until his back was pressed into the tile. The edge of something like a ledge pressed into the back of his thigh and when he turned back, his eyes widened in surprise; how had he missed that before?

Yugi gently gripped at his hips when he could no longer back up, and then put his mouth to his ear. "See? It's one of the details."

He turned back with a smirk, hopping onto the ledge and opening his legs wide enough so that he could wrap them around Yugi's waist and pull him closer until their pelvises mashed together sharply. The pain of the action had him a second away from throwing his head back with a moan but his jaw clamped instead, his eyes becoming half-lidded with desire, his skin burning with need.

Yugi pressed his mouth into Yami's eagerly, his heart skipping a beat as their lips fought for dominance, tongues battling it out, a small growl coming out of the taller teen that caused him to tremble with delight. The growl grew a little louder and Yugi pushed him back until his head hit the tile with a dull thud that he nearly apologized for before fighting the urge off, knowing that this was what Yami needed—for him to soothe the void inside of the taller teen. He lifted his calves up slightly and pushed into him until he couldn't go any farther, fully sheathed and startled out of his mind when Yami let out a cry at the strange yet enjoyable thrust that battled the sensation of falling off the edge of the ledge.

Yugi froze, staring at him with wide eyes, searching his face frantically for any sign of pain, the noise equally likely to be pain or pleasure, fear making his skin crawl at the aspect of hurting him. Yami ignored his desperately concerned look, instead reaching out to press his hands against the walls surrounding him to push hard against him. The single action was enough to erase all of Yugi's worry, the smaller teen smirking as he plunged himself deep inside the teen, his jaw feeling oddly tight even as he continued his movements, desperate for this to be strength against strength, fire against fire, the need for Yami to fight him with as much power as he showed him. When his eyes opened and narrowed into slits with shadows that danced across his naturally dark red gaze, Yugi smirked wider and Yami bared his teeth before pushing into him harder, matching him as he pressed hard against the taller teen's ass, filling him completely over and over.

It was disturbing that he couldn't shut his brain off even then, instead finding himself solidly taking note of the fact that Yugi fit him completely, his rigid penis caressing his prostate with each thrust.

He only broke eye contact when Yugi swallowed hard, almost nervously, as if he were losing his nerve the longer they stared at each other despite his body almost on autopilot, the taller teen throwing his head back against the wall and his nails clenching desperately for purchase against the smooth wet tile.

He was drowning in the sensation now, his mind shutting itself off without much instruction on his part, startling him momentarily before the pleasure overrode his formerly racing thoughts. Yugi guided his legs to wrap around his waist, gripping his hips with a force that they both realized belatedly would leave bruises, his fingers digging into his flesh desperately, trying to pull him impossibly closer. It took a few minutes but suddenly his body was tighter than a bowstring, grasping at everything and yet nothing all at once, breathing coming out strained as his release tried to bulldoze through him.

Yugi was not entirely sure what made him do it, but suddenly he found himself with Yami's neck in his mouth, the soft flesh clenched beneath his teeth, causing him to let out a cry of shock and pure pleasure; thick ropes of his orgasm erupted over both of their chests even as Yugi struggled to breathe through his nose as the intensity of it brought him to his own, surprised when he found that he was not the only one who was still thrusting desperately in order to sustain his pleasure a little longer.

It was only a few thrusts in before Yugi couldn't go anymore and Yami stilled, both of them breathing hard and trembling, Yugi's fingers seeking purchase in Yami's skin around his neck while the other teen merely laid his chin on his head and let his hands settle at his sides, gripping the ledge loosely, the physical and emotional connection Yugi was seeking already frayed on his half. He only moved when he felt the desperation Yugi was experiencing in the bite of his nails in his skin, eyes widening when the smaller teen leaned forward and pressed his cheek against his chest above his heart, as if listening for his name amongst its steadying beats.

For a long five minutes Yugi didn't move but when he did Yami found himself aching at the fact that he couldn't give him more as he pulled away and helped him off the ledge, busying himself quickly with the task of reaching up to one of the showerheads, turning the dial on the side to make the spray more concentrated, the torrent massaging. Yami hated the silence but at the same he craved it, wished it would drown him amongst the steam, closing his eyes to keep himself from trying to see what exactly had hurt the smaller teen; instead he focused on the sensation of the water directed to his lower back, gently massaging away the tension that had settled in his muscles as a result of the seating arrangement on the ledge.

Yami only opened his eyes when the water was taken away, and mostly it was because he wanted to object to the sudden withdrawal of the soothing touch, but found himself completely frozen and staring straight into a pair of wide blue-violet eyes as Yugi said, "Thank you" in an extremely soft voice that barely raised his words to hearing range.

Awkwardly Yami sought something out to gain purchase, to make a statement, to push away some of the oddly disconnected feeling that had settled beneath his skin. "Shouldn't I be the one giving thanks? I mean…" Trailing off was a stupid idea but it was the only one that made sense; defeated and floundering mentally, the taller teen turned away to stare at the drain for a moment. "The massage felt nice. And you let me stay here overnight. I don't think you can really say that's happened more than once with the roles reversed."

He wished Yugi wouldn't say anything, but the smaller one knew that if he didn't say it now he never would. "I need to thank you. I need to thank you for…giving me control."

Yami merely shook his head, at a loss.

"I want…I want to tell you…" Yugi spent a few minutes just searching for the right words and Yami waited patiently, eyes still downcast but his head tilted slightly towards him in acknowledgment. "I need to tell you thank you for trusting me that much. To top, I mean."

"You let me do it and you aren't ashamed of it so I figured I should return the favor at some point," Yami said with a frown, not at all happy with the spotlight that was on him and really wishing that Yugi would stop; it hurt too much to think about.  _Please, if you feel_ any _semblance of friendship towards me, Yugi_ … "It's…freeing to relinquish control."

"I know, but I also think…" He paused again and finally Yami's head turned towards him, but his eyes were guarded and his stomach twisted as it hit him at full force all over again. "It's…Yami, letting me be in control of you—yes, it's freeing for you, but it's also a gift you're giving to me and me alone. And…I'm very grateful, Yami."

Yami didn't understand what Yugi was talking about, in all honesty. He understood bits and pieces and he acknowledged them, but parts of what Yugi had just said confused him. Yugi understood the sacrifice he made when he sat on the ledge and Yami had to wonder just how horribly obvious it was that this entire thing was so difficult for him. Yugi could see it—the fact that Yami was uncomfortable with this conversation, that while he didn't completely understand, he wasn't going to argue because his words made sense. Yugi silently promised himself that he would do everything he could to make sure Yami never regretted it—never regretted placing his body in his care and his emotions in his trust.

Although, maybe it was a little too late to be making that promise considering.

"You're welcome," Yami finally replied, voice coming out a little thicker than normal, slightly strained beneath its usual baritone pitch. "And you should know that I am grateful as well…for the gift you gave me every time I topped."

"I know," Yugi said with a small smile, nodding at him gently. "I knew all those times too. Even when you were pretty much plastered"—Yami groaned in response and put his face in his palm, shaking his head while Yugi snickered at him and went cross-eyed—"you still respected me, even when you were about to…"

"Violate you?" Yami supplied innocently, peaking at him and narrowing his eyes, making Yugi crack up.

"Yes, exactly!" He grinned at him and searched his face for a moment, knowing that he wasn't going to get that connection he wanted back any time soon. "Okay, but now I'm absolutely famished so let's wash up and order a pizza."

They made quick work of cleaning up, drying off and dressing quickly. Yami wore only his own jeans, Yugi supplying him with clean underwear, socks and a black button-down shirt that he occasionally would pick at the buttons with his nails, not out of nervousness or anything of the sort but rather just because he just liked the feel of the round edges and smooth design beneath his fingertips.

"So, um…how are you feeling?"

Yami turned his head and stared at him in confusion. "How am I feeling?" he managed, even more puzzled as the seconds passed, obviously not entirely sure exactly what Yugi was asking of him.

"Last night…yesterday," Yugi clarified, taking a seat next to him on the couch and crossing his legs, looking him over. "It was kind of intense, right? I know we talked a bit about it in the shower, but I guess…I want to check in to see how you're feeling about everything that we've spoken about."

Yami turned away immediately. "For instance?"

"For instance…" He hesitated and then watched Yami closely. "What you said…"

"It doesn't matter. Honestly, it doesn't. It's fine. I think you were right. It was just the after-sex," he answered, shaking his head and feeling his heart crack into a million pieces with the statement. "I was still caught up in the orgasm and I couldn't control my mouth, that's all, Yugi. I don't…I don't love you, Yugi."

Yugi dug his teeth into his cheek. If Yami didn't love him then why did his voice crack at the statement and why would he not look at him?

"You're not on your way to the guillotine, Yami. You don't need to look so grim."

Yami couldn't help it. His lips twitched up slightly and his head shook as he stared at the coffee table as if transfixed. He didn't say it out loud but he felt like he might as well have been being scrutinized while his head was cut off in front of a crowd of angry people. It hurt enough just to say those words.

He hadn't meant to let them slip last night either.

* * *

The first thing Yugi really noted when he was at the red-eyed teen's house that day, was how completely empty-feeling it was. It grated at his subconscious as he followed him inside and up the stairs. Two of the three rooms were void of beds altogether but Yami's had one and despite himself the smaller teen found himself really wishing that they were going in there instead of the other room; he led him across the hall, a few feet away from his room, past the bathroom that his mind begged him to flee into, and paused momentarily in the doorway as if he expected something to jump out at him.

Yugi stopped a couple of steps behind him, chewing his cheek as the taller boy finally walked inside, glancing every which way for a few seconds before heading off into the closet. The small teen stood back awkwardly, swallowing hard for a moment before going wide-eyed as the other returned holding a box of what looked like darts.

The two of them were only together at the time because Yugi was disgustingly lonely at his own home and was desperate for some kind of outside influence, someone else to keep him company, and Yami had been his one and only choice.

Yami didn't even glance at him when he drew one of them out and tossed it straight into the center of the little board on the wall; Yugi's mouth fell open, blinking before hurrying over and staring. Dead center…

"How the hell did you do that?"

Yami didn't answer immediately and when Yugi turned back the Puzzle glistened for a split second before settling into a rather eerie half-glow kind of gleam of gold. "I learned it at camp."

"Camp? Like Boy Scouts?" he murmured, confused by the statement.

He laughed dryly and Yugi wished there was some way for him to draw him out of his bitter mood but after everything that had happened at school, it was no surprise he was not at all friendly; Ushio had apparently lost what little brain cells he had and had attempted to rape him on the cafeteria floor after he set off a cherry bomb in the boys' bathroom nearby to get the staff out of the room. He'd gotten Yami on his back but hadn't anticipated the wilder side that rested inside of the smaller teen and had no way of defending himself when Yami tore the skin on his neck open with his nails and kicked him repeatedly in the groin in order to throw him off; several people had tried to jump into the mix—among them Yusei, Jaden, Yugi himself, Tristan, Mai, Vivian, and two new students that he thought looked  _oddly_ like Yami's cousins—in order to help out but Yami had ended up throwing a chair at them in his rage, hitting Yugi and Jaden across the stomachs with it and sending them both toppling, before seeming to realize what he was doing and then had turned and walked off, kicking Ushio one more time in the face on his way out.

That hadn't been the end of it, however, as he had gotten out of his last period to find that Yami was leaving gym class with some blood on his shirt along the sleeves which meant that it obviously hadn't been him who was hurt. When he had asked, Yami had blown him off but the Malik-look-alike who came out after the red-eyed teen muttered that Yami had kicked Ushio's ass in the locker room to the Bakura-look-alike; Yugi had just barely managed to get Yami to listen to him long enough to ask if they could walk home together—Yami had been rightfully surprised, questioning this, but had mellowed when Yugi said he was getting a little tired of being home alone all of the time—and now they were here.

"I did  _survival camp,_ Yugi. Boy Scouts is for wimps."

Yugi smiled slightly in amusement and Yami smirked in response before his lips curved into a small, genuine smile that made his guarded eyes appear slightly brighter behind the layer of red ice. "Yeah? Well, how did that go?"

"Very well, actually."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm. I know how to untie myself from any kind of knot using only my thumbs or rotation of my wrists. I can get out of handcuffs in two point three nanoseconds and I know how to break someone's bones."

Yami didn't mention that by technicality, he knew every single pressure point on the body and with that knowledge, he also knew how to kill someone with a blow.

"That's pretty cool."

"Yeah…"

Yugi took in how his eyes darkened a shade and instead focused on the dart that Yami was fondling in his fingers which had turned white with the force he was using to keep it in his grip, his knuckles looking washed out; when he backed up several steps the dart shot out to claim place next to its predecessor.

"What's wrong?"

For a moment Yami didn't respond and then he tossed another, his fingers sharp in their design as his wrist snapped with the movement. "Father was 'deeply shamed' by my inabilities," he growled softly, reaching for another and gripping it tightly for a second before it too found place in the dart board. "He shouldn't fucking have the right to say such shit when he cannot even do  _half_ of the things that I can."

Yugi grimaced, remembered the way that Yami always seemed to curl in on himself whenever he said something even  _remotely_ sharp towards the taller teen. His stomach twisted as he remembered the way that Yami always bowed his head and turned it away slightly so that he could no longer see his eyes or the way that he always lowered his gaze when he was reprimanded, no matter how teasing or playful Yugi's tone was. "Is that why you judge yourself so harshly? Because he does that to you?"

The taller teen shrugged and tossed another. "Probably."

"Well, fuck him," Yugi snarled, angry as he saw the way that despite the darts being slung like knives, Yami's eyes had turned glazed as if he was drawing into himself but trying not to make it too obvious. "He has no fucking right to do that!"

Yami didn't respond for a moment and then looked at him for a long time, his expression thoughtful before his attention turned back to the board. Yugi thought maybe he had overstepped but then he caught the smallest breath of a chuckle, followed by another and soon growing into full blown laughter, the red eyes sparking with amusement and his mouth drawn into a wide grin.

Yugi smiled with relief that he had not offended him in any way while Yami simply shook his head and tossed another dart, murmuring, "Fuck him."

He took in the path of another dart, followed by Yami going over to collect them, his eyes taking in the movements that seemed fluid but forced all at once; he was unprepared— _drastically_ unprepared—when Yami looked over at him, murmuring, "I wonder if it kills him that he has no other children and my mother cannot have another. And to have his only child, his only son, be a faggot…"

But though his tone was thoughtful, there was an underlying current of pure sadistic amusement that made Yugi's spine go rigid in alarm; was this the same half of Yami that had waved the knife at his father, pointing out his organs and threatening to carve them out while he was still alive? The one who lost his temper with him over the text message he had read? The one who, despite the fractured wrist, had thrown Ushio into the wall without even seeming to realize that he was there in the first place? The one who smacked Duke in the hallway and stared at him with such disconnect that it was obvious that he had't recognized him?

"I think it does," he stated softly, because he didn't know what else to do, surprised when Yami's eyes narrowed slightly in distaste after having momentarily widened at his words, tuning away and tossing another dart into the board.

He didn't speak further, however, because he knew that if he did, Yami would withdraw and push him away and he didn't want that. Not more than he already had. Yes, they had sex often, but like Yami had said, it was meaningless, it did nothing but get them off, and it took their minds away from the crap that was going on. The emotional connection was severed completely on Yami's half; even when they were in bed rolling around under the sheets those times that Yugi woke up desperate to feel  _Yami_  only to be denied by the other teen, the red eyes were expressionless unless darkened and bathed with lust. Those flashes of emotion, the one that he had slowly begun to realize was flickers of Yami's deep-rooted affections towards him, were completely gone.

And when they started to fall asleep, Yami would cuddle with him, yes, but instead of trying to place his head on his chest to listen to his heart or even tangle their legs together under the covers, he would simply grab him so that they were facing each other and snuggle into the pillow before falling asleep.

He wanted it back. He wanted the emotional connection, the deeply flawed one that burned him with a million flames but left him blistered with happiness, and he wanted the physical link between them that he always wished he could dig into Yami to the point that the taller teen was buried beneath it.

So, no, Yugi didn't speak and risk fraying them further. Instead he remained silent and watched as another dart sank into its destination, watched as Yami drew another and threw it effortlessly. But, without even really looking at the taller teen, he knew, without a doubt, that the taller teen had just aged significantly in that moment and it saddened him to see, but there was no comfort he could offer.

"Thank you."

Yugi's head snapped towards him, startled by the sound of his voice and horribly confused by the words he had spoken. "For what?"

"Listening, I suppose," Yami stated without looking away from the board, drawing his next dart. "Believe it or not, this is really the first time I have ever talked to anyone about it."

"You mean…being gay or your father?"

"Both. Even though, obviously, the rest of my family knows about my predicament, you're literally the first person I could talk to without being judged. Despite the circumstances involving us. So…thank you."

Yugi felt his stomach twist when Yami refused to look at him, his brain trying to find some way to make him do so but floundering with the alarms that went off in his head. "It's the least I can do for you."

His eyes flickered over, confused even as the dart shot across the room and reached its destination without a single hesitation. "Why do you say that?"

His chest hurt even as the words passed his lips and the taller teen studied him with impassive eyes. "For obvious reasons."

"Oh…you mean the whole me loving you thing?"

"Yes," Yugi snorted a little sharply, mimicking his flippant tone, irritated that he no longer seemed to care about this. "The not loving you back thing. I don't know if I can…make amends for that."  _I don't know if I can allow myself to…_

Yami simply shrugged it waved it off dismissively, tossing his next dart. "All is forgiven."

He blinked when he went to tease him, realizing with a startled sensation that Yami was actually telling the truth. He had forgiven him. Yami had literally forgiven him for all the crap he'd put him through for two months now—the on-off, the fucking him for no reason, getting drunk and showing up unannounced and yelling at him… Maybe he had formed a sort of bond with Yami in the short months they'd known each other. Then again, there was always that saying that in times of struggle people of different backgrounds who would essentially never have anything to do with each other would form unbreakable bonds. He didn't know if he could honestly call it unbreakable, but it sure as hell was not weak either.

And, frayed as it was, it also seemed to be thriving beneath the surface. But a treacherous part of him whispered,  _Do you think we could ever last_? and refused to back away even as he stared at the darts until the stripes all seemed to bleed into a color wheel that was spinning far too fast for him to keep track of their ascent through the air. No matter how annoying the unbidden thought, he refused to voice it.

* * *

There was fire beneath his skin. But it wasn't the one that he loved. It didn't blister. Instead it corroded his skin, turned it black and made it peel away from his body, made it fall in flakes of ash-like flesh.

Yami merely stared back at him even as he snapped his hips and Yugi felt his mouth open for a mewl that brought no enjoyment to either of them, the noise unnecessary and too loud for them both.

Red glass. Reflecting but not projecting. Like a mirror. Yugi could practically see himself in those dark eyes, in his dilated pupils, in the darkness of the blood around seeping onyx, the two pools of color tearing at his insides and reflecting them back at him.

He wanted  _Yami_ , not this emotionless creature that was currently pounding him into the mattress like a dog in heat. But this was his fault…

* * *

"If they were really fighting, that idiot would have been dead before he hit the ground," Yami commented as they watched the movie; he froze with the words leaving his mouth, startled by the fact that he had not grasped them before they hit the air, but it was too late for him to draw them back and denying them would be stupid. So  _what_ if Yugi knew that he had the potential to kill him?

If he shied away now, that just gave him even  _more_ reason to keep his emotions under check and their bond solidified only in the physical sense.

Yugi caught his words, held them in his mind for a long minute, and then very slowly tipped his head to the side; he supposed that made sense. It was a survival camp, after all, and if they dealt with handcuffs and being tied up and even taught them the basics of fighting, who was to say that they did not teach them the pressure points of the body, where one could kill another in self-defense should the situation call for it?

He could see that Yami was studying him now, awaiting his response, his eyes narrowed the slightest bit, obviously expecting him to walk away.

"If he died, the movie wouldn't be as good," Yugi teased, smirking widely.

Yami blinked a few times, knowing that Yugi had caught on and truly stunned that he was not trying to turn away from him with the knowledge and instead opting for joking with him. "That's true. What would the movie be without Jackie in it?" he muttered, letting his eyes flicker back to the screen.

Yugi floundered some more but there was no way back to the surface.

* * *

The incessant ringtone had his ears protesting as his dream bled from Yugi mewling beneath him to the sickeningly shrill chirp of the little white device, his lip curling back as he struggled to dwell back into unconsciousness only to be drawn further into awareness. Dear Ra, he needed to change that stupid fucking thing.

"Hello?" he yawned, burrowing his face into the side of his pillow and struggling to keep from hanging up on the other person immediately in hopes that they would not call back again and he might be able to chase his fuzzy desires back to his dream again…

"Yami? Where the fuck are you? You sound like shit."

Yami rolled his eyes behind his lids and yawned again, hissing out, "Why, thank you for your assessment, Yugi. I was sleeping and now I'm awake." He snorted at his own statement, amending it with, "Half— _half-_ awake."

"Oh…well, are you at least okay?"

"What? Yes, why?" he demanded, sitting up a little.

"Because you just slept through the entire school day."

"What?" Yami screeched, startled out of his mind as his head snapped towards the clock, eyes nearly bugging out of his skull when he saw that it was 4 p.m. on the dot, his fingers clenching against his phone and his sheets. How was it possible that he had even slept this long? His internal alarm clock must have fucked up. "What the hell? What day is it?"

Yugi started laughing. "Did you hit your head or something? It's Thursday."

" _Fuck_."

"Okay, okay, calm down, Yami, it's  _hardly_ the end of the world. I mean, so fucking what? It was just a day of school. Shit, I think you could probably pass even without coming every day. I just wanted to make sure your dad hadn't shown up again or something."

Yami flopped back onto his stomach and snuggled into the pillow again. "Thank you for checking up on me but I'm okay and I'm going back to sleep. Goodbye, little one."

"Little one?"

Yami froze with his finger hovering over the End button, eyes wide and body stiff with realization; had he really just called Yugi "little one"? That was the last time he answered the phone when having a sex dream. He commonly called him little one in his sleep and this was definitely not good.

He couldn't take it back however, and trying to deny it would be pathetic and stupid and hanging up would be a low blow considering Yugi had called to check up on him.

"Sorry."

It was all he could come up with and his stomach twisted with worry that Yugi would hang up and just stop talking to him whatsoever and their little bond would break completely, but then finally, the smaller teen murmured, "Yeah, you really have to be asleep to call me that. Go back to sleep."

"Okay."

Yugi hung up and Yami stared at the phone for another hour before settling back to sleep.

* * *

"I'm so going to kick your ass," Yugi announced.

"Fuck off, you can't beat me," Yami snorted.

"We'll see about that, won't we?" he asked with a wide smirk, eyes baiting him, begging him to let loose some, to lose that shield that lingered in his gaze even as they awaited the game's opening scene.

Yami narrowed his eyes slightly but eventually his mask slipped just enough for Yugi to find a small,  _miniscule_ flash of pure amusement before it was gone again—but Yugi was grateful for even  _this_ and nearly fell into his arms with tears in his eyes at the sensation of being let in even for that split second—and growled out, "Ha, you can't beat me, Yugi. There's no way."

"No one has ever beaten me in a game—not once, Yami. Don't think that you're going to win."

"Hmm, well isn't that different?" he murmured with a smirk. "Looks like you've got the same reputation with games as I do."

Yugi snorted. "No way."

"I don't lie when it comes to games."

"You don't even lie," the smaller teen scoffed with a roll of his eyes, but he froze slightly when red eyes flashed momentarily before settling again, narrowing.

"You just haven't caught up to them yet," Yami stated simply, turning away again.

Yugi stared at him for a moment, studying him closely and wondering if he meant not loving him because that was obvious to him and he didn't think even a blind person could miss it. It was a lie, of course it was a lie, but he had to wonder what the hell it was that Yami was talking about. What lies had he told? What did he have to catch up with?

Ten minutes later of them both mercilessly smashing their buttons, their characters both shooting off to opposite sides of the screen only to be pronounced knocked out and their game drawn at a tie, had them on their feet and arguing.

"No fucking way. Did you rig it?" Yami snapped.

"Are you kidding me?" Yugi exclaimed. "How do you  _rig_ Super Smash Bros?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm  _asking_! Because obviously you managed to do it!"

"I didn't do anything but kick  _your_ ass!"

"You didn't kick my ass—I kicked  _yours_!"

"Bullshit! I left you in the dust!"

"I got you to over three thousand damage!"

"I got you over four!"

"No you fucking didn't!"

"I so did!"

"Fuck off, bitch, there's no way!"

"I won! Face it, you suck!"

"Whoa,  _what_? Oh,  _fuck_ no, you didn't! You little fucking  _cheat_!"

"How the  _fuck_ would you cheat at  _Super Smash Bros_?"

"I don't know! But you obviously did!"

"Fuck you, Yami, I won! Don't be a sore loser."

"Sore lose—? Oh please, I have  _far_ more sportsmanship than you!"

"Don't even!"

Yami opened his mouth to bark out a rebuttal but ended up going wide-eyed as his phone rang with a loud play of the  _Spongebob Squarepants_  theme song. His head snapped around towards Yugi who bit his lip, struggling not to laugh; so he  _hadn't_ been wrong when he assumed that Yugi had touched his phone earlier when he went pee.

"You fucking asshole! I hate that show!" he spat, tackling him against the couch, throwing them both over the armrest. Yugi was howling with laughter, batting off his blows and somehow managing to wrap himself around him in a tight hug after Yami landed a few good hits, even weaseling his legs around the taller teen's waist and pulling him down onto the cushions.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to get your kissing techniques from an animated sponge!" he cackled, laughing harder as Yami's face burned bright red, putting every known shade to shame as the flames danced across his cheeks. Ra, was that where his drunken mind had come up with what Yugi dubbed the "helicopter kiss"?

"Shut up! I hate that show!"

Yugi was laughing even as he pressed his mouth into the side of Yami's neck, licking from between his lips and then nipping at the soft skin; Yami's eyelids fluttered and a low purr escaped him, the taller teen momentarily having an extremely hard time remembering what it was they had been arguing about.

"You shouldn't have made our first kiss so memorable, Yami."

Yami found his teeth digging into his cheek and Yugi momentarily felt his body stiffen for a split second before he resumed his task of licking and biting. Both of them understood the statement at its fullest, neither missing the compliment but opting for ignoring it steadily.

"So full of shit," Yami ground out, shuddering when the small teen blew on the already wet skin and then nipped lightly again before sucking softly for a moment, pulling away before he could make a mark. "You are so not going to talk yourself out of this."

"That's what trying is for."

"Not succeeding."

"Talking is vastly overrated anyways," Yugi replied, repeating his assault on his neck for a moment before nipping his jaw and pulling gently at the skin there, making the taller teen's spine seize up, arching like a cat as his eyes widened in surprise; he pulled away after a moment and nuzzled his cheek before indulging himself in a brief lick to the shell of his ear. "How about I show you  _why_ it's overrated, Yami? We can have a  _hell_ of a time…"

Yami bit back a moan. "You are fucking impossible," he bit out.

"You hate me now, right?"

"Fuck yes," he snorted spitefully, his voice coming out even despite his obvious lie.

" _Per_ fect," Yugi purred.

Yami couldn't help it when his pants tightened due to the wicked look Yugi shot him, doubled with a wide grin that made him wary. His mouth suddenly felt a little dry, desperate for Yugi's against his. "Why?"

"Because now I'll be forced to persuade you to like me again," he announced, grabbing him into another vice grip, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him closer with his legs still wrapped securely around his waist. Yami narrowed his eyes.

"That's going to take a  _lot_ of persuasion. You sure you're up for that?" he replied with a straight face, raising an eyebrow and staring down at him with a completely serious expression.

Yugi grinned like the Cheshire cat and pulled him into a kiss, slipping his tongue into his mouth, his mind singing the lyrics to  _Spongebob Squarepants_ much to his chagrin and nearly pulling away to curse out loud because of this. Damn that stupid fucking sponge for having been on TV when he went to sleep last night.

* * *

"Oh yeah, you don't want to go near those two," the girl stated, making him look up with a slight frown; he'd finally asked why the smaller teen was alone in his spot, why his taller look-alike sat there with those other two students. Why they had all been like that since he had come to Domino High two weeks before. He had yet to actually interact with them but with the way that the little group he was sitting with and…well,  _everyone_  avoided them as if they had the plague, he couldn't help but feel a little curious about it.

"Why not?"

"They're fucking queer," some guy sneered.

"Didn't I  _just_ see you making out with some guy?" he asked slowly, frowning.

"Dude we're both on the same level. Those two morons  _aren't_."

"Level?"

"Of the hierarchy,  _duh_ ," a cheerleader sneered, rolling her eyes and popping her gum.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion and tipped his head slightly to the side at the thought of a social hierarchy; did they  _really_ live by that that popularity thing? Then again, this wasn't where he had grown up and while they hadn't cared about it there, maybe they all cared the most about this because they were still teenagers and different teenagers had different ideas about life. Obviously popularity seemed to be the number one thing in this school.

He turned his attention back towards the other two teens. The smaller sat several tables away from the other, completely alone and doing homework but the taller sat with two other spiky-haired teens, one with blond and the other with a light gray that bordered silver, the three occasionally talking and the other two sometimes snatching his food off his plate to earn a raised eyebrow and a playful scowl.

"Then…who are they?"

"That's Malik and Bakura. His cousins  _and_ fucking psychos."

"Psychos?"

"You ask too many questions."

 _Or you don't really have a_ reason  _to hate them as much as you do,_ he thought wryly, resisting a small grin. He glanced back at the smaller, tilting his head again curiously; he was kind of cute in one of those innocent ways. Definitely someone that you would see in a crowd and be able to pick out easily once but a second time would be damn near impossible.

He frowned slightly, taking a seat next to the brunet who glanced almost nervously towards the two "psychos". Or perhaps it was the red-eyed "pariah". Or maybe even the smaller who had raised his head slowly and was looking almost as if someone had said his name and he was trying to find the source of the word.

From a distance his eyes looked completely uniform, a purple that made him bristle with discomfort at the sensation of being caught by such a wide, almost innocent gaze. But he was glaring and when he narrowed his eyes, the shadows from his lashes turned the tops of his irises a dark stunning almost  _sapphire_ blue. _  
_

"Don't make eye contact with him for too long," one girl snickered. "He might try to jump you."

"Excuse me?" he asked dubiously, narrowing his eyes slightly at the insinuation.

"He's the resident slut. He'll sleep with anything and any _one_."

He bit back his initial response of asking if he had slept with him and then pointing out that his no meant that he had at least  _some_ standards, but the more he looked at the smaller teen the more he found it so hard to picture it that he had to tilt his head and really stare at the boy. "I can't picture that," he finally admitted, shaking his head slightly. No, that small teen was not the one to sleep around; he could tell just at first glance. There was something about just his overall expression that said that much.

The choker around his neck that looked a  _lot_ like a collar gave the appearance that maybe he could but when he narrowed his eyes further and leaned back in his seat, staring at him coldly, it denied the validation of that assumption. It seemed like maybe the idea of him being a slut had been around a long time because he knew for a fact that the small teen was staring at him with a look of pure disgust that all but shouted at him that he was beyond stupid if he actively believed that.

"Well  _do_ because it's  _true_ ," the brunet muttered, rolling his eyes with a small downward tug of his lips that almost said that he was not in complete agreement with his own statement but it sounded rehearsed enough that it came out bland and bored, monotonous. "And who knows what kind of diseases he might have?"

"Just because you've had sex before doesn't mean you get an STD," he objected, biting back a scowl.

"Yeah, well, whatever," he scoffed. "He sleeps around  _too_ much not to have one."

He glanced at the blonde and the other teen with the light purple hair, pursing his lips thoughtfully; they had been silent this entire time so either they didn't  _agree_ or they just didn't care enough to say anything to the new student.

Yugi glanced towards Yami, feeling almost offended that he hadn't turned his head and glanced at the other student that looked so much like his cousin; when Bakura scowled and said something with his lip curled he knew his name had passed through the air without needing the red-eyed teen to look over at him. He pointed without having to glance towards the Bakura look-alike, that face practically engraved in his mind if only because he hadn't looked away like he  _knew_ Valon had told him to.

Yami blinked once, trailing his eyes along his arm as if to memorize the position, and then looked towards the source of his attention, blinking in confusion when he found nothing there. He looked down the entire table but the only thing that made him even slightly alarmed was that Mana and Mahado were gone and when he looked a little further, he found that Duke had taken Yugi's place in the table, seated next to Tristan, a fact that made his skin crawl but didn't do much else.

He turned back, brows furrowed, and found that whatever had alarmed Yugi enough to point had now pissed him off enough to sit with his jaw clenched and his teeth grinding together.

He took a seat with them as the librarian started to put some books back on the shelves, glancing back and forth between himself and the twins who had introduced themselves as Mana and Mahado, the girl being  _sure_ to tack on "Yami's best friends" as if she were testing him for something. Apparently he had passed when he merely nodded because the two of them were relaxed and looked completely at ease again.

"You shouldn't believe what the others tell you," Mana said, giving him a reassuring smile that almost bordered a shy flirtation but with the way that she had said she wanted to talk to him said she was  _far_ from a shy person. "Alister is scared out of his mind of Yugi and Valon…well he hasn't exactly messed with him before. He got into a fight with Joey  _once_ and got  _really_ banged up so he doesn't mess with any of them anymore."

"I swear he's the  _only_  one whose  _learned_ from the experience," Mahado commented wryly, rolling his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"A little while ago Yami had a fractured wrist and I think he was sick or didn't take his medicine or something and Alister pretty much attacked him in the hallway," Mana spat spitefully.

Her twin glanced at her and turned back to him. "He did it to get back at Yugi."

His eyebrows shot up. "Get back at Yugi?" he repeated, thoughtful and wondering what the small teen could have done to warrant the redhead's anger.

Mana gave him a small smile. "They don't sit together at lunch and they never hang out together at school, but if you watch them really closely, sometimes you can catch them looking at each other," she murmured, grinning a little too enthusiastically, eyes brightening drastically.

He tilted his head in confusion; why was that such a big deal?

Mahado chuckled. "She got ahead of herself," he commented playfully. "You already know that they've been reduced to pariahs. But you don't know  _why_ that happened."

"Right…"

"Yami and Yugi apparently broke the social structure a while back," the teen snorted, rolling his eyes. "They kissed and a picture was leaked out. And it's kind of hard to miss it when something happens like what Alister did. Yami got hurt pretty badly from it and Yugi went after Alister for it. Left him in the locker room for the next class to laugh their asses off at him for looking like an crybaby on the floor."

He watched them closely for a second, blinking once at the small victorious look that lingered in those lavender eyes and the deep blue-green gaze that winked at him playfully. "So then…Oh…"

"Yeah."

"But how do you know for sure? Him going after Alister doesn't really  _mean_  that they're in love with each other."

Mana frowned a little. "You have to actually  _see_  it when they look at each other. It's more obvious on Yugi's face if you can catch it right  _when_  it happens. Otherwise it's pretty obvious just looking at Yami after they so much as  _glance_  at each other. There's something…different about his posture when it happens."

"Really?" he muttered, half excited but partially skeptical. He wanted to see this but it seemed almost wrong at the same time if they were serious. And aside from that, there was a moment where he thought that maybe they had been watching Yami and Yugi for so long that they could see it but he wouldn't if he got the chance.

"Yeah. It's... you just have to see it," Mahado agreed after a long minute. "There's no way to really  _describe_ it."  
He nodded a little; he would have to keep a lookout for it then…

He saw it in the hallway, right before the alarms went off during class. The smaller teen walked past his locker, looking slightly pissed but more just a softer degree of pure annoyance, and that was nothing too surprising to him because it was a hallway. Lots of people. Lots of lockers. But the second the smaller teen passed, Yami's head snapped up and turned as if something possessed him to look and for a moment he thought Yugi would ignore it because  _surely_ the smaller teen would feel it if he could even from where he stood completely out of the red eyes' line of sight, but then his steps faltered. He'd only gotten a step or two, maybe three, away, and he didn't turn immediately, instead looking almost as if he was scared of something for a split second. And then he finally turned his head.

And if he was completely honest with himself,  _everything_ seemed to tip on its side suddenly, the most unnerving yet relieving sensation he had ever experienced. And it wasn't even  _directed_ towards him.

Yugi and Yami stared at each other for a second, only one, long enough to check the other over and send the  _briefest_ of smiles, but it felt like a lifetime had passed between the two of them, right before his eyes.

He shuddered and the two of them looked away again, so instantly that it made his skin crawl. The smaller teen started down the hall again, only stopping when he suddenly noticed him; blue-violet eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, glaring hardly for a moment.

Was he expecting something from him?

"So you're Valon's new pet project, huh?" he ground out, bristling and giving a single glance towards Yami as the taller teen passed by; the possessiveness that lingered in his eyes when he turned back made his gut twist. Oh crap. Did he think he was going to go after him or Yami?

"I—"

"Listen to me. I don't know what the fuck he told you about me or Yami but I swear on  _your_ life that if you fuck with him for  _any_ reason, I will  _mutilate_ you.  _Understand_?"

"I didn't pl—"

"Do you  _understand_?"

He could have tried again but the look in his face said everything. If he opened his mouth  _without_ the response he  _wanted_ , he was just going to cut him off again.

"Yeah."

"Good." When his eyes finally trailed down his body it felt like someone was sticking his skin in boiling water.

This boy wasn't kidding. He would absolutely  _kill_  him if he ever raised a hand towards Yami.

"That goes for the rest of your little group. You can tell  _all_ of them that if they so much as  _look_ at him a certain way, I will  _destroy_ them, understood?"

He nodded again and went to open his mouth but the smaller teen walked off without a second glance before he could even part his lips.

It was kind of funny that he was going after him like this. Definitely a new experience for him when it came to meeting new people. But he guessed it made sense. Valon might have learned his lesson but he could see how tense it was between Yugi and Alister just by the way the redhead had glared.

Obviously Yugi thought something was being planned at one point or another and he thought he was involved.

The moment he took his first step inside the room, he found himself gawking. Had Yugi  _known_ he had a class with Yami? How could he have when he didn't?

The red-eyed teen sat across the room from him, far out of ear shot, looking almost  _drained_ as if his tiny interaction with Yugi had taken all his energy.

He couldn't help it when he started, blinking in shock several times before opening and closing his mouth when someone bumped into him and sent a mumbled apology.

Why he was so alarmed by Yami's presence was a little bit of a mystery to him, because he didn't think he would go for his throat like Yugi had in the hallway. But either way he almost couldn't move until the teacher murmured, "Ryou, right?"

He nodded and scrambled for the seat she pointed out to him next to Valon and he felt almost disappointed when he found that Yami hadn't even bothered to glance in his direction.

Then again maybe it was just him. Perhaps he just didn't pay attention to  _every_ little thing or care enough to truly look for the source of disruption in the room. It could have also been to keep from drawing attention to himself. Maybe if he had looked up, someone would have called him out on it…?

He shook his head; why was he trying to justify Yami's actions anyways?

It was halfway through class when the alarm went off. Ryou watched the teacher stare in confusion, muttering about not knowing about a fire drill that day, and Ryou watched as they were directed out of the room. At first he got separated from the class as they all filed out, slightly alarmed by the amount of students; how did they all fit in the school in the first place? It seemed like they would have been bursting out the walls at that rate.

He only spotted Yami because someone bumped into his side and because of Valon when he saw him shaking his head and trying to tell Alister that they shouldn't do whatever it was they were planning.

He sought his way through the other students, mouth falling open when he spotted them. Yami was bleeding from the nose, crumpled against the wall with one leg drawn up and the other spread completely out, as if he had tried to get up right before he had been knocked out like he was now.

"Why not? He fucking deserves it."

" _No_ one deserves what Ushio has planned for him," Valon spat incredulously, voice bordering hysteria. "And your little vendetta is against  _Yugi_ , not  _Yami_."

"What better way to make him suffer than to hurt his little fuck toy?"

"He beat you up. So what? You don't see  _me_ doing this to Wheeler. Alister—"

"If you can't handle it then go outside," the redhead snapped. "I don't  _want_ to hear your whining."

The brunet looked ready to be sick. "Yugi is going to fucking  _murder_ you."

"See, that's where you're wrong. He won't  _know_ who was involved aside from Ushio."

"Bullshit. He's  _too_ smart to think that Ushio is the  _only_ one involved in this shit."

"Whatever."

Ryou watched the redhead grab the unconscious teen, propping him up and then letting him slump and fall down the wall again.

"Think I should just drag him?" Alister asked, smirking widely over his shoulder at Valon.

"I think you should leave him alone," Valon spat, shaking his head.

"Shut up with that already, damn it."

* * *

"Yugi!"

The smaller teen spun around at his name, confused by the alarm in the tone, eyes widening when he saw that it was Valon of all people running towards him. His impulse was to sneer about where his little lap dog was but it died in his throat when he saw the way his bright eyes shot towards Bakura and Malik and back with a strained wild gleam.

"They…Yami…" He swallowed hard and Yugi stared at him blankly before grabbing him violently by the lapels of his jacket, pulling him to his height and snarling, "Yami  _what_?"

"Alister is taking Yami to…"

" _To_?" Yugi coaxed in a harsh voice. "Where is Alister taking Yami?"

"To Ushio."

"… _What_?" he spat, narrowing his eyes. "Tell me I heard you  _wrong_."

"Alister wanted to get back at you and Ushio  _hates_ you. And he's mad about what happened in the cafeteria before. They're going to…"

Yugi shoved him away harshly; it didn't matter what they  _planned_ to do, just that they didn't. "You two," he snapped, glaring at Bakura who turned his head with a sharp look and curled his lip, narrowing his dark coffee brown eyes until the shadows littering them turned them practically black. "Come on."

"Did he just boss us around?" Malik asked with raised eyebrows.

"Hurry the fuck up," the smaller teen snarled, ignoring the teacher who called his name. "I doubt Ushio is going to put off on his fucking Yami just so that you two can get over your pissy little attitudes towards me."

Both of them stared as if he had lost his mind, glanced around once to see where Yami actually  _was_ , cursed loudly enough for their teacher to reprimand them, and then took off after the smaller teen who had already run inside; Ushio was a creature of habit as far as Yugi was concerned. He went after Yami in the cafeteria the first time so this time would be no different. He was still honestly just wondering why it was that he had turned his sights on Yami instead of coming after him again.

Or he was until he remembered Yami throwing him into the wall in the bathroom like he had when he attempted to rape him. So obviously Ushio was still sore about that. And what better way to get at  _both_ of them than to be able to overpower Yami and make him suffer?

* * *

"Wake up. Damn you, Yami, wake up. Valon is going to go get Yugi and your cousins but if you don't wake up…" he muttered, panicked, slapping his cheeks a few times. "Come on, come on…"

His eyes snapped open suddenly and Ryou stumbled back, hairs on the back of his neck bristling; he hadn't remembered seeing them so fucking dark before…

"You stupid  _idiot_!" Alister exploded, shoving him violently and throwing him hard on his ass, the brown eyes snapping towards him in shock from where they had been lingering on Yami who was staring at them through his long lashes, watching and assessing.

He got to his feet immediately again. "What? Did you  _really_ think I was going to just come  _with_ you to have some  _fun_ with him?" Ryou sneered incredulously. "How fucking stupid  _are_ you?"

Yami drew his legs forward, up towards his chest, eyes narrowed and scanning as he tried to gain some bearing for the moment.

"Ushio is going to  _kill_ you," the redhead laughed, shaking his head and smirking. "Oh god, he's going to skin you alive."

"Whatever. I don't care—"

Ryou's mouth dropped open when Alister hit the ground, the impact so harsh that his jaw cracked with the force of it, a yell of pain cut off before it even fully formed in his throat; his light brown eyes shot up from the sneaker that stood an inch away from the unconscious boy's neck and found that Yami was staring at him coldly with a curious gleam that burned his skin.

"You're okay…" he muttered, swallowing hard. How the fuck had he even managed to get up in the first place? Let alone  _move_ like that?

He hadn't even  _seen_ it.

Yami ignored the statement, instead looking down at Alister and using his shoe to lightly kick him over onto his back, staring down at his unconscious face and smirking the smallest bit, red eyes gleaming with malicious laughter that made him feel sick.

He had decided that he would be the one to help Alister bring Yami to the cafeteria for Ushio, telling Valon that he needed to run and get Yugi and Bakura and Malik, that he would keep Alister occupied and try to wake Yami up in the meantime.

Now where the fuck were they?

Ryou watched his head snap around when the doors opened again, red eyes flashing like fire.

"You're  _awake_ ," Ushio boomed, laughing and giving Ryou a sharp look that clearly said he would kill him. "Good. It wouldn't have been very fun fucking a corpse."

The red-eyed teen stared at him. "Couldn't find someone  _willing_ to take it from a micro-penis, Ushio?"

Ryou choked at the calm tone of his voice, feeling sick to his stomach with even more vibrant alarm. He shouldn't have been so fucking  _calm_ …

"Gets kind of boring fucking the same whore. I think you call him  _Yugi_?"

Yami nodded slowly. "Right. Because he would  _surely_ let you fuck him when you have the nail versus the hammer," he drawled. "He likes  _big_ , not tiny."

Ushio was a hell of a lot easier to mess with than most as far as Yami was concerned. He went into a rage almost immediately. Not one for battles of wit, only physical.

"Cute," he commented, half-smirking.

* * *

Yugi was panting when he finally caught up enough to see why they were going inside, his skin crawling when he spotted two of Ushio's friends holding Yami's arms and legs while Ushio took shots. Yami didn't look so great but he was still conscious and when Ushio swung there was a loud grunt and cursing while Ushio's two lackies burst out laughing; Yugi was a little surprised to see that Bakura's whitish-silver-haired look-alike was slumped against the wall, looking rather roughed up with a bruise on his cheek and a busted lip and a wound on his right arm that was openly bleeding.

He went to grab the door but Malik caught his wrist and held him there, stopping his attempt to go inside; Yugi spun on him with the intention to snap at him to let go but stopped short to glance inside as Yami snarled and chomped his teeth at Ushio, earning him a hit the side of his head that had his eyes practically vibrating in their sockets and blood streaked across his temple.

Bakura snorted out a laugh, shaking his head slightly. "Fucker bit him hard."

Yugi ignored him, catching his breath in large inhales before passing through the door and staring as Yami struggled and got his left foot free to ram it into Ushio's chest, pushing him back; it was only then that someone else came up behind him to grab him more securely, Yami's eyes nearly popping out of his head as they laced their arms under his and forced his chin to his chest, restraining his legs by curling theirs around him.

"Fuck," Bakura growled.

Yugi didn't have to ask to see what he did. If they rushed in there, Yami was liable to get hurt in the meantime. It could be by accidentally or completely on purpose, used as a shield or just his captor moving without thinking, but either way he could end up harmed.

"This is pathetic, Ushio," Yami leered, glaring at him through his lashes and baring his teeth into a snarl despite the pain in his neck from the position. "Couldn't fight me on my own so you had to fucking get them to hold me like this? You should only be so lucky to restrain me for so long."

"You know, you're just the right size to suck my dick."

"Fuck you. I'll tear you to pieces!" Yami spat, his mind racing in overtime, a million different thoughts flashing though his head in a single second; instinct gave way to strategy, strategy to momentary panic, momentary panic to…a strange and eerie calm that made his stomach twist with familiarity. He knew this calm.

He was so caught up in the sensation of it settling his stomach and making his muscles relax that he didn't even notice Yugi was there until the smaller teen spat, "Hey, Ushio!" and the giant student turned his head only to have his face meet the metal legs of a cafeteria chair. He staggered and Yugi followed it up with another, jumping off the table he was standing on and hitting him repeatedly despite the fact that Ushio's lackies were coming at him.

The one holding him shoved him away violently and Yami stumbled several steps but managed to keep his footing, neck feeling strained as he raised his head and spotted Bakura and Malik laughing and attacking a couple of Ushio's idiot friends who all started to look squeamish and ready to flee; he licked his lips where blood had pooled in a small tear of skin, swallowing hard when he felt a small gush of blood from his nose. Damn it. He had thought it had clotted already.

He found his bearings just enough to assess that his body ached from where they had gripped him too hard but he was fine aside from that. He turned back to find Yugi clawing Ushio's face open like a rabid dog, eyes narrowed into slits as he tore skin that bled or turned bright red in long slashes of raw irritated flesh.

Smart move considering that Ushio had backed him up into the table and he didn't have enough room to throw a punch and one would take longer to form and toss out than it would just lashing out like he was. If he backed him up further, Yugi could maybe  _just_ use his legs to kick him off without even having a falter in his actions… _  
_

Ushio managed to throw him off and straight into his taller counterpart, the two of them sliding across the tile with the impact, Yami pushing Yugi off in a hurry in order to spring to his feet. The massive student bulldozed him, his back making a loud and sick cracking noise that left his ears ringing even as a fist hit his face. His hands shot out to grasp, to tear, to push, to pull, but he couldn't find purchase and the pain was making his ears ring.

Yugi sat up and stared for a second, finding that Yami was completely pinned and his hands were blindly reaching out but Ushio was too tall, straddling him and punching repeatedly; there was blood now, like a faucet, and Yugi knew it wasn't just from the broken nose he had given the massive hall monitor. He had to end this. Before Yami got hurt worse…

"Son of a bitch," Bakura breathed out as soon as his own opponent fell to the ground after a nice punch to the gut, brown eyes focused on his cousin who had too much blood on his eyes to even really open them; even if he had, the liquid from Ushio's torn up face would have leaked straight into his pupils and left his vision obscured.

"So, what should we—?"

Malik's question was never finished as suddenly Yugi sprang like a cat and landed straight on Ushio's back, fingers prodding into his temples and nails digging into his skin with enough force to cut it open. The massive teen tried to throw him off but he was only relieved of the pain in his head when Yugi jumped off willingly, backing up a couple of steps and grabbing a new chair. When he spun around, the plastic was whipped through the air hard enough to make Ushio's head snap back and his body turn limp, unconscious.

Yugi threw the chair aside, breathing hard, and hurried over to Yami who was sitting up now, rubbing at his eyes and blinking, squinting and rubbing harder.

"Shit, are you okay?"

"It's in my eyes," Yami hissed out angrily, rubbing harder.

"What is?"

"His blood. It's in my eyes."

"Fuck, okay, come on, let's get you to the bathroom."

Bakura and Malik swapped looks, appearing to question whether or not they should allow Yugi to do this, but then watched them as they walked off, eventually turning their attention towards the other knocked out student.

"Got a marker?" the silver-haired teen murmured.

Malik snickered and dug through his pockets, handing him a black sharpie that Bakura took and smirked widely at, kneeling down and tipping his look-alike's head up.

* * *

Yugi turned on the faucet and Yami rubbed frantically at his eyes; he didn't even care about the pain that exploded in his back every time he moved, just that his eyes weren't working.

"Trust me?"

Yami didn't hesitate though his voice was strained. "Yes."

"Then relax and do as I say, okay?"

"…Okay."

Yugi let out a small breath, closing his eyes for a split second before reaching out and gently stroking at his jaw to make sure he knew it was him before pulling him closer and lowering his head to the water, the faucet rinsing his closed eyelids. "Open your eyes."

Yami wasn't so sure he wanted to do that. He didn't need the feeling of water on top of being blind so naturally he didn't just do as he said.

"Yami,  _please_. I need to see how bad it is."

He hesitated for a long moment but finally opened his eyes into slits; initially he started to panic because he couldn't swim and if water was in his eyes, that meant he was  _under_  it, so naturally he tried to pull away but Yugi reached over and held his head there, his fingers soothing as they massaged at his scalp.

"It's okay, Yami. Just calm down."

He wasn't sure why Yami was freaking out but the fact was that he was so he settled for trying to soothe him instead. Because, why not? First of all he needed his eyes cleaned, second he had to see how badly he was hurt.

"Yugi…"

Was it just him or was his voice really strained and weak?

"Okay, okay, hold on," he murmured, reaching out to turn the faucet off, grabbing a wad of the paper towels from the dispenser next to him and hesitantly touching at his eyes with them; Yami's hands shot out and nails dug into his wrists, making him flinch harshly at the bite to his nerves, freezing in place.

Yami blinked his eyes open after a few moments, his vision fuzzy around the edges but rapidly growing clearer the more they were open, blinking several times before focusing entirely on Yugi. He was about to ask if he was okay because his mouth was turned in a grimace, but instead settled for releasing his wrists, letting out a shaky breath. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he assured him with a small smile.

He was quiet for a long moment. "You…you came in after me…"

Yugi nodded, slightly uncomfortable as he swallowed hard. "Yeah, I came in after you," he murmured, wiping some of the excess water off his skin before turning on the faucet and wetting a little of his bundle of paper before going about wiping at the dried blood.

"Thank you," he muttered, wincing; that kid had said Valon was going to get him but he hadn't really believed it.

He shook his head once in response, closing his eyes for a moment to steady his shaky mind, and very slowly went back to his task of wiping away blood.

* * *

"What time is it?"

"Ten-thirty."

"At night?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. We've still got a few hours."

"Good." Yugi didn't think he could deal with school again so soon; it felt like he had just woken up and it was far too soon for him. He reached out and bunched Yami's shirt up in his fist for a moment, holding it there tightly to reassure himself that the other teen was okay. "Hey, um…a-about earlier…"

He hated that he was stuttering but he couldn't help it, feeling sick to his stomach with the thought of it all, swallowing hard even as the red-eyed teen turned his head to look at him, blinking in the silver light of the moon that was shed through the glass of his skylight.

"Thanks…for…Thank you for trusting me…"

Yami was silent for a long moment and turned his body towards him to lay on his side, watching him curiously and tilting his head. "And you trust me?"

Yugi didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

"Do you really?" Yami wondered, making Yugi freeze as tension seeped through his body. Was Yami trying to hint at something  _other_ than just  _trust_? Was he hinting at…his attachment to him as well?

"Yes?"

"Yes or no, Yugi. You either trust me or you don't…"

"I trust you."

Yami purred in response; he didn't believe him all the way. Just enough to relax again because it was obvious that Yugi at least trusted him a little, maybe not enough to love him back fully—and he hadn't really expected him to—but enough to acknowledge the attachment even if he couldn't make himself put words to it for the time being. "Good."

"Hey, um…give me a second. I'll be right back."

Yami nodded and closed his eyes, breathing in a deep sigh; Ra, Yugi's pillow was starting to smell like him. Was he really there that often? He hadn't thought so. But then again, most of their little escapades happened at Yugi's and not his. Vaguely his mind bit at the tail end of a thought about having messed up. Yugi was a runner, after all.

He startled violently when fingers touched his side, his own hands shooting out to grasp at him in the darkness as clouds covered the moon and his heart jumped into his throat momentarily.

"Hey, hey, relax," Yugi soothed softly, drawing Yami's hands from his sides, starting to bunch up his shirt at the bottom; the taller teen complied wordlessly, sitting up and allowing him to pull the stained white cotton over his head. He kissed his nipples so that he shuddered; it was amazing but terrifying when he realized that he hadn't even really had to think about Yami's body in order to do so, his mind making up an image to map out mentally without any fumbling on his behalf. Did he really know Yami that well?

"What are we doing?"

"I want you to prove it."

"Prove what?"

"That you trust me."

"Yugi, if I didn't, I would have peeled your skin off at school in the bathroom."

And why was  _he_ the one being tested? Was Yugi that insecure about it all? About his unrequited feelings? Or perhaps it was the fact that he was cutting him off that made him so desperate…

A cool wisp of breath traveled over his skin as Yugi hushed him against his right nipple. "Relax and trust me for a moment, will you?"

Yami could make out nothing due to the lack of lighting in the room so he was already blind when Yugi started moving around; the smaller teen seemed to know that Yami was uncomfortable with this sensation of not being able to see him because he kept all of his body weight near him, always close enough that they could have touched if one of them just moved the slightest bit. The dip in the mattress would grow more pronounced when Yugi would lean forward and Yami could practically feel him breathing against him with each of these movements.

"Yugi?"

"Yes?"

"It's not working. I'm just going to lay back down now."

"Just stay for a minute. Now where did I put it? I just had it…"

"Put what?" Yami asked, starting to reach around him; Yugi caught his right arm with his left despite being just as blind as he was, and then leaned forward to nuzzle his neck with a grin that Yami could feel.

"No peeking—or…uh…feeling, I guess? Anyways, no moving around."

"Really, Yugi, this is stupid—"

"Hush—and stop moving."

Yami snorted at him in response, Yugi snickering as the taller teen pulled his hands to his lap. "Okay, so I stay still…and you get to grope me blindly?" he huffed when Yugi pinched his side by accident.

The smaller teen snickered louder and a hand touched his knee, fingers stroking for a split second before he purred, "Got it! I just need you to reach your arms back for me in a minute. I'll tell you when."

Yami didn't like this but he didn't argue, but he also couldn't relax.

"Cross your wrists and lift them over your head."

"What? Why?" Yami demanded immediately, voice coming out slightly sharp with the thought; hands, soft and warm, reached out and touched his arms to trail fingers to his hips, the touch just comforting enough to make the sharpened bite of fear lessen.

"Hey, it's your choice, Yami…" He didn't have to say more for him to understand.

He still wasn't sure why it was him who had to be tested, because honestly he felt that it should have been Yugi instead, but he didn't voice this because possibly it was just Yugi trying to see if he still cared despite the way that he refused to give him more than his physical touch.

With a small breath that could have passed as a sigh in the silence of the room, Yami raised his arms over his head and crossed his wrists, feeling Yugi lean forward so that their body heat mingled and grew tenfold in the small space between them. The room was still too dark for either of them to really see, but Yami didn't really bother to try to see anything, instead searching for Yugi's eyes, surprised when the other boy seemed to stare straight into his as something cool and smooth pinched his wrists. Yugi pulled his hands up further, his body moving to bring him forward to press his hips slightly against his, his knees pressing into his soft skin before Yami found the back of his hands touching something smooth and cold that he supposed was the headboard. A bite of even sharper fear bubbled through him as he figured the tightening prick of his skin being slightly pulled by that thing around his wrists was Yugi tightening the hold of what he knew to be handcuffs.

He really tried not to struggle but it really pushed at his tolerance when something soft covered his eyes and his mind supplied him with the fact that Yugi was taking his eyesight away, the hit of the incident in the cafeteria blindsiding him for a moment. He ground his teeth together because he knew that it was Yugi in front of him and he didn't want to hurt him and he knew for a fact that he could if he didn't just relax.

The smaller teen studied him in the darkness, feeling his body rigid in its anxiety. But he wasn't fighting him, so that had to mean that Yami trusted him. Yugi chewed his cheek, feeling smug about being the one person Yami trusted enough to do this, and he knew it was only him because if it wasn't he wouldn't be so tense now.

Only after a full six minutes did Yami manage to breathe out, "I feel like one of those fucking sluts at a frat party. I hate bondage" only to squirm as soft laughter came from Yugi's lips in front of him and fingers caressed the band of his jeans, his heart leaping into his throat as fear pounded through his system once more.

Yugi peeled first his pants and then his boxers off, reaching up to gently thumb his hips and watch his face, squinting and straining his eyes furiously to take in the way that Yami's jaw muscle was jumping, ticking, clenching together; desperate to make Yami feel better, he went about teasing him with, "Well, I don't think that the sluts normally look as good as you do, Yami, so you have that much going for you. So, Yami, Mr. Survivalist Extraordinaire, do you feel vulnerable?"

"Yes."

He caressed his inner thighs slowly, leaning fully into the task so that his fingers managed to massage at some of the harsher tension that Yami was unable to stop, the taller teen biting back a moan that suffocated in the back of his throat; though he didn't like the fact that he was taking away Yami's senses all over again after the display of pure terror he had given him in the bathroom, he had to know. "Trust me not to hurt you?"

"I…yes."

Yugi moved his hand to his hip, thumbing the soft flesh, feeling desperate for something more and unsure of what it really was; this wasn't intimacy so it didn't warrant the connection that he had been struggling to reestablish between them. So, it had to be something different. Maybe he was just desperate to have someone trust him so much ormaybe he was just selfish and wanted to feel more of it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." His voice came out slightly shaky; the last time he'd had something like this happen outside of the fight at school, he'd been locked in the closet for three days straight and had nearly died until he managed to jimmy the lock and get out again. He still wasn't sure how he had ended up in there in the first place, but his parents had been immediately alarmed so he knew that it was not some kind of sick new punishment his father had come up with. "I trust you."

And he did. It was the only thing that kept him from panicking at that very moment. It was the only thing that kept him from attacking Yugi right that second, from tearing Yugi to pieces.

Yugi touched him with the bare tips of his fingers and Yami squirmed, making him caress and torture him with slow liquid movements; for a moment Yugi was worried about what to do, but then very slowly took Yami's erection into his mouth. The tip, at least; the rest took a lot of adjusting in order to take in.

On several occasions Yami nearly thrust into him but instead managed to keep his hips still with the thought of hurting him, throwing his head back against the headboard and moaning softly as Yugi used his tongue to experimentally swirl around the head of his erection, slipping the pink muscle into the slit. Yami squirmed with movements of his wrists, banging them against the wood to keep from thrusting into his mouth. His senses were incredibly heightened due to the loss of the other two and every touch was intensified to the point that it was almost unbearable.

Yugi felt a little stretched out and moved his mouth back to the tip, swirling his tongue against the head again and using his right hand to pump the rest of the erection; ugh, he really wished he had practiced with stuffing hot dogs in his mouth or  _something_  because his jaw was starting to feel a little cramped from the way he was using it.

Somewhere in the middle of one after another swirl and dip and humming to make his tongue vibrate against the sensitive skin of the erection, the heat began to build in Yami's belly and he wanted to dig his hands into Yugi's hair and pull him closer but he couldn't and instead settled for letting out a low, hoarse growl and shaking the handcuffs harder so that they rang out louder than they had before, a clear warning that he was getting there and if Yugi didn't want to taste it, he should pull away right then.

Yugi ignored this warning. How rude would it be if he left Yami just hanging like that? Plus, he had researched it on the internet and had wanted to do this since after he had called Yami to ask if he was sick. In all honestly he had meant to do this before they had fallen asleep or even before they had sex that day, but he had gotten distracted from his own goal and he wanted to taste him. It was weird because he had never thought about even giving a girl or guy oral sex before and thought that orgasms probably did not taste like they claimed in books, but he was still willing to try it out with Yami.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as they went along the lines of Yami's diet for a split second, realizing that he had no fucking idea what Yami did and didn't eat when at home and so had no way to judge or anticipate the taste. He alternated his suction, going slower and more leisurely; Yami tensed up and Yugi prepared himself for it, taking a deep breath and then licking along the head.

That single action did Yami over and Yugi choked slightly from the release, honestly surprised by how much there was and the strangely intense taste of the somewhat thick, hot liquid; when he pulled back, he managed to swallow a few times before coughing twice and then shaking his head. Yami tasted like something between white chocolate and maybe caramel—definitely on the sweeter side—and Yugi grinned; Yami had decided to indulge his sweet tooth, apparently.

He turned back to the penis, surprised to find that he was still semi-erect, and went about cleaning up any excess with his tongue, feeling it twitch beneath his tongue and hearing the small moans from the taller teen who was panting above him. When he was sure he had gotten all of the thick liquid cleaned off, he pulled away and kissed his way up to his face, hesitating; would Yami want to taste himself? Because he was definitely still in his mouth and the taste was pleasant but the thought could very well be disgusting to the taller teen…

He didn't get a chance to ask before Yami's head suddenly turned towards where he was thinking of how to phrase the question and then their lips were together, the red-eyed teen's tongue mapping out his mouth. He ignored the small part of his brain telling him that he was pretty much tasting himself, and instead went about continuing his actions of kissing him thoroughly.

When they finally pulled apart, Yami was breathless when he murmured, "What about these?"

"Hmm…I don't know, Yami, I like the way you look with your arms up in the air like that," he teased.

"Well, take a picture. It'll last longer anyways."

"And risk it being  _found_?" Yugi mock-gasped, snickering when the other teen huffed in response.

"Yugi…where did you get the handcuffs?"

Yugi burst out laughing. "Okay, um, I found them in my grandpa's room the other day when I was picking out some laundry to do. And they're actually not his."

"Your grandmother's?"

"Yep."

"…They were kinky…? That explains so much."

Yugi doubled over laughing, moving his hands to grip his hips tighter and press his hair into his torso. "No, she was a cop…" he choked out.

"Oh…" Yami was blushing and he was pretty sure that if the clouds had parted some, then Yugi could definitely see it staining his cheeks.

"But that would explain it, wouldn't it?"

"Yugi," he said tensely; as much as he loved what had just happened, as much as he loved Yugi, there was still a sensation in the back of his head probing at the thought of his six-year-old accident and the fight from earlier, and it made fear freeze his bones in place.

"Okay, okay, relax," he muttered in an effort to soothe him, hearing the fear in his voice. "I'll take them off for you."

He went to undo the handcuffs when suddenly they clicked and Yugi heard them drop to the mattress as Yami grabbed him into a small hug, clinging to him tightly for a brief second though it definitely did not escape Yugi. "Are we…?"

"It was about you, Yami."

"…Don't you want to?"

Yugi hated the hurt and rejected undertone that bled into his words but settled for kissing Yami's neck and saying, "Fuck yes, but I…It wasn't about me, so let's just go back to sleep, okay? We have school tomorrow." He had always hesitating kissing anywhere other than the lips because he was worried about what message it might send, but he couldn't stop himself when his lips pressed against Yami's temple.

Both of them froze for a moment and then Yami muttered, "Okay" and settled back under the covers, putting the handcuffs away on the nightstand and falling asleep within moments; Yugi caressed his hair for a moment and then chewed his lip.

"My Yami."

He liked the sound of it but the concept terrified him so badly…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	20. Yours to Deal With

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter is rated MA (Mature Adult) for sexual content (lemon)  
> Lemon Warning applies to sixth part for an almost-lemon, tenth part for a general one and the thirteenth for a graphic one.  
> The Konami Mountains was in the map in a Yu-Gi-Oh game that I have (too lazy to figure out which one) right outside of Domino City.

Chapter XX: Yours to Deal With

Something needed to change. How often had Yugi been telling himself this? Change…was not an easy option for him. It scared the shit out of him in all ways. All the possibilities terrified him. But he could no longer ignore the fact that he was constantly uncomfortable, unable to do anything but think about Yami all the time. His thoughts always traveled back to the red-eyed teen.

He could no longer deny the obvious. He wanted Yami. Yugi wanted Yami in a way that was barely endurable with the physical need that came with it.

Yugi had always been angry at Yami for having Tea's attention when he struggled so hard to try and gain it himself. But now that he thought about it, Tea was right to think of him as mind-numbingly beautiful. He was sorely aware of  _every_ tiny little aspect of Yami's body. How smooth his skin was. How deliciously his round backside filled out whatever pants he was wearing. And those lips—plump, silky lips when kissed…Yugi could fantasize about those for hours.

Flashes of heat streamed through his veins as he pictured himself on top of a half-naked Yami and his imagination brought the image of kiss-swollen lips and a flushed face, sweet moans and the feeling of Yami's tongue against his.

In his mind Yugi replayed the feeling of softness between his fingers as he had combed through the long red-tipped black hairs. For a long moment Yugi admitted to thinking of Yami as some kind of king, or maybe a god. One that he didn't want to lose to someone else who would not love him in the way he  _needed_ to be loved. And Yami, Yugi knew, needed to be loved a  _lot_. That much Yugi was sure of.

He may not have been Yami's best friend, but if there was nothing else he had learned about him, it was that he needed support just like everyone else even if he didn't want to accept it. And when Yami was stressed out, he said rather rude things and was not the nicest and he would fight with you over nothing and everything and Yugi could not see someone else handling his wildest mood swings, his dangerous clash of fears.

Yugi had always felt comfortable with letting Yami lean on him because that was what he did. He let people lean on him and he wasn't sure that anyone else would do this for Yami in the right way. He needed someone who would fight with him with all they had but continue to love him regardless, to talk him out of things when he was so worked up he could barely function properly.

He and Yami had gotten pretty close over the last few days since the videos began coming out, Yami let him lean on him when he needed and Yugi let him lean on him, did what he needed to in order to make sure Yami was okay. Admittedly, some of his ideas were simply not the best, but they worked for the two of them and the sex was still pretty awesome.

Yugi felt sick to his stomach with the idea of Yami loving him. How could he possibly say that and mean it? Yami had to be joking, right? It wasn't that Yami was not desirable, because he definitely was and Yugi would definitely take him on at any moment as his bedmate but to claim he loved him? Yugi had never  _been_ in love. Not truly. The thing with Tea had been purely lust and a deep foundation of friendship, the desire to have her in his bed and be with her in ways that others couldn't. It was spurred on by his grandfather's words and desires for him to find someone and it was only tripled by his need for attention.

When he actually took the time to  _really_ think about it, he could not understand why he had ever wanted her in the first place. Her true colors had definitely shown the last few months and they were not  _nearly_ as bright as Yugi had originally thought. It disgusted him that he had even been drawn to the brunette. Then again…all he had ever wanted, she had given him—attention, pure and simple. Though definitely not the kind he wanted.

No, Yami was the only one who gave him  _that_ kind of attention. He was the only one who looked at him with adoration in his eyes and who flirted with him and treated him as he would treat anyone else. Yami was the one who was willing to put up with him at his worst without expecting anything else. Yami was the one…who claimed he loved him.

And Yugi hated himself for not being able to say it back. He hated himself that he allowed terror to hold him back. He hated himself that Yami was tearing himself up over telling him and especially the slip up four days ago, the night before they showered together. And he definitely hated himself for telling Yami that he should never have told him in the first place.

* * *

Yugi let out an unceremonious squawk of surprise that made Yami recoil, the smaller sitting up immediately, startled into complete awareness, blue-violet eyes wide with a gleam that made the taller teen stare in confusion. "What the fuck? What the fuck was  _that_?" he spat, glancing around and then turning back to Yami slowly, blinking wide eyes.

"What was what?" Yami snapped, looking around despite knowing there was nothing alarming in the room…well, besides a naked Yugi under the sheets but that didn't count. "What the hell are you so freaked about?"

Yugi stared around again, twisted around a couple of times, reluctant to push the warm comforter off and trying to work with it as it was. Slowly he drew his eyes across the half-clothed teen next to him and back, confusion lacing with that wild gleam and blending into a simple frustration.

"Yugi, what the  _fuck_ are you  _looking_ for?" Yami spat, frustrated at the concept of being denied more sleep.

"I…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Whatever. Never mind. Get back under here."

The taller teen scoffed softly but crawled back under the covers only to hear Yugi let out that same loud cry.

"What. The. Actual. Fuck. Yugi?" he snarled, glaring at him.

The smaller teen stared around again and then slowly looked down at him and back, eyes narrowing as he snatched his right arm by the wrist and touched his fingers. "Well no fucking wonder. Goddamn asshole. Fucking crawls back in bed with cold hands."

Yami stared at him and then looked at his hands and offered a sheepish smile. "Oops?"

Yugi rolled his eyes, but he looked a little calmer, not nearly as pissed as he would have been had it been someone else. "How the hell did you even _manage_ that in the first place?"

"Ice."

"Excuse me?"

"Ice," Yami repeated, glancing at his fingers. "As in the cubed stuff that you put in water to keep it cold."

Yugi blinked a few times, irritated, and then rolled his eyes and lay down again. "Whatever. Just keep your hands to yourself."

"Yes, because I was so tempted to dig my fingers into your flesh for a third round," Yami snapped, groaning as he fell back against the mattress; he shouldn't have done it the first time either.

Yugi stayed quiet for a long minute and then turned his head to look at him over his shoulder. "Third round?"

"Ugh, not now," the taller grumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, concerned and confused as he watched the other teen peer at him through his long lashes. "It's been a couple of hours. You should be good and ready again by now."

If it had been said in any other tone, Yami would lost his temper and snapped at him in frustration but he was worried, like maybe he knew something was completely wrong and it made him want to scream in frustration.

"Nightmares," he mumbled around a breathy sigh and licking his lips, closing his eyes completely and snuggling into his pillow, shuddering at the fresh shot of Yugi's scent that slammed into his senses with the motion.

"About what?" Yugi pressed, frowning. "Your parents?"

"I wish," he snorted disdainfully. He yawned softly and Yugi tilted his head in confusion; what could be worse than his  _parents_?

For a moment he didn't speak and Yugi was almost scared to ask, frowning and shaking his head slowly.

"Dark places, laughter, fire…" Yami mumbled without being asked.

The smaller teen went to ask what that meant but found himself staring at a passed out Yami.

* * *

"Malik with Ishtar, Bakura with…" The teacher stared at the sheet for a long thirty seconds that made the class look at her awkwardly as she cleared her throat and blinked a few times. "Ryou."

"Who the fuck is Ryou?" the silver-haired teen spat, rolling his dark brown eyes and glancing at his cousin when he snorted a laugh and shook his head.

The teacher let out a soft sigh. "Not even worth it anymore."

The class burst out laughing and Bakura smirked widely as the teacher rolled her eyes.

"You two raise your hands for them."

Malik scoffed but did it anyways and his cousin snorted, turning back to his project sheet; if the kid didn't know who he was already without him having to raise his hand after  _that_ outburst, either he was retarded or lacked basic common sense.

Ryou got up, curious about how the two of them would react but more amused by the other boy who got up; four look-alikes. How oddly awesome was that?

And judging by the teacher's astounded expression, it had hardly been a conscious pairing, most likely just her throwing out names.

He wanted to laugh but decided not to at the last second.

The silver-haired teen glanced up, blinked once and then burst out laughing. "Oh  _shit_ ," he snickered, nudging his cousin who started cracking up and grinned widely. Marik shot him a curious look as he took a seat and both psychos swapped matching grins.

"Why hello  _Ryou_ ," Bakura greeted with a purr and a wide smirk, brown eyes dancing with mocking laughter. "Kind of surprised you managed to get that sharpie off. Very impressive."

Malik cackled next to him, both of them smirking widely as they swapped looks again; Ryou wondered if this was some kind of intimidation factor, both of them together and laughing and giving each other those glances that clearly said they were enjoying themselves a little too much.

"Shit," the blond muttered, shaking his head.

"Kind of hard. Thought I might have peeled all my skin off at one point," Ryou commented with a small grin, knowing by the way that Bakura's eyes danced with more laughter that they were both remembering how he had woke up and stared at them, spotting the Sharpie in the silver-haired teen's hand and then running off with a cry of annoyance and surprise. At first he had been worried about Yami but had ignored it in order to see what the hell the two of them had done to him. "Nice dick drawing by the way. Liked the little curly hair you drew.  _Very_ nice."

Malik doubled over, nearly falling out of his seat while Bakura stared at him for a long minute.

"I  _like_ you," he announced, nodding once. "Not a bitch."

Marik raised an eyebrow at Ryou who smirked and winked before turning away again, glancing at the project sheet and frowning slightly; why were they being partnered up like this? He was used to having solitary projects where he didn't have to rely on someone else to do their half of the work.

"Now…who the fuck are  _you_?" the dark-eyed teen demanded, turning on Marik and narrowing his gaze.

"Marik Ishtar."

"Ishtar…where the  _fuck_ have I heard that name?" Malik muttered, furrowing his brows.

"She just said it, idiot," Bakura muttered, rolling his eyes and getting a laugh out of the other two while his cousin smacked him upside the head; the silver-haired teen spun on him, glaring and grinding his teeth together.

"Fucking comedian."

"Ra,  _the museum_ , you  _dumb_  shit."

Marik raised an eyebrow at Bakura's frustrated eye roll and Ryou's small grin.

"Oh yeah, the bitch in charge of the Egyptian exhibit!"

Marik had the automatic impulse to snap at them not to call her that but bit it off at the last second.

Both of them waited for it, brown and mauve eyes staring blankly when he didn't respond, instead muttering, "What?" as if he had no idea why they were looking at him like that.

Both shrugged and turned away again, and Marik leaned forward when he said, "So tell me about this masterpiece of a dick you drew."

Malik snorted in laughter and Bakura grinned widely, digging into his pockets and providing his phone. " _Admire_ my beautiful handiwork, pet. It should be recorded in a fucking museum. Like the Mona Lisa."

Ryou burst out laughing. "Puts all other art to shame."

"Sounds like one  _glorious_ dick."

"You have not  _seen_ a dick until you feast your eyes upon it."

Marik snorted in amusement and raised an eyebrow, looking at the picture when Bakura showed it to him, both brows shooting up until they almost disappeared into his hairline.

"Ra, that  _is_ fucking glorious." He glanced sideways at the other albino, narrowing his eyes. "You should be ashamed of yourself for getting rid of it."

"Damn  _straight_!" Bakura barked.

The smaller brown-eyed teen shook his head. "I am drowning in shame."

"Fuck yeah you are!"

Marik turned back to the phone screen. "Nice fucking  _shot_ , man. Shit, did you pose or something for it?"

Bakura and Malik burst out laughing and Ryou blushed.

"Being knocked out and slumped up against the wall while these two draw on your forehead is  _not_ posing," he mumbled, the blush only growing when Marik burst out laughing, covering his mouth and shaking his head with a soft "Oh, fuck."

Malik and Bakura shared a high-five before turning back to their project partners when the teacher barked at them to actually  _do_ their work, cutting them off when the silver-haired teen started to say he was  _trying_ to get to know his project partner first. _  
_

"All right, all right," Malik muttered sharply, rolling his eyes.

"So…what the fuck are we going to do?" Bakura asked, staring at him.

* * *

"You know, you're not that great at following me undetected," Yami muttered, not turning around as he purchased the soda and some candy, the cashier smiling and shaking her head with a glance at the person behind him.

"Shit, yeah, I know. I suck," Yugi agreed, walking around the candy aisle with his own M&Ms and sour gummy worms. "I got distracted by the candy."

The taller teen laughed, glancing at him over his shoulder with a wide smile before shaking his head and turning away again, taking his bag and waiting for him to buy his own before leading the way out again; the blue-violet-eyed teen started in on his massive bag of M&Ms immediately, licking his lips happily as the other watched him for a moment and then turned away again.

"So, why did you decide to skip school anyways?" Yugi asked, popping some chocolate into his mouth.

"I just…School isn't where I want to be today," he stated simply, shrugging once and opening his soda with a small glance at him, a little alarmed by the way those blue-violet eyes bore into his skin.

"That's understandable, I guess."

He nodded distractedly, humming once and swallowing a mouthful of the carbonated beverage; in all actuality he had left to get away from Yugi and think for a little while. It wasn't that he would have rather had the smaller boy stay at school without him and not see him all day, but he was trying to think of the way to  _phrase_ the statement that he wanted to make to him later. Because it was disgusting for him to keep it to himself and it was unfair and Yugi had the right to know what he was getting into with all of this.

"So…um…where are we going?"

He half expected Yami to turn around and say "You're going back to school and  _I'm_ going home" or something like that like they did in movies, but the teen was as unpredictable as ever, instead shaking his head and chuckling, "I'm going into Konami Mountains for a little while. And apparently you are tagging along. So I guess I should say  _we're_ going to the Konami Mountains for a little while."

"Really now? The mountains?" Yugi asked, interested and not bothering to hide it. "I didn't think you were one for nature."

The teen raised an eyebrow and glanced at him with a small smirk. "I am but not often. However, I needed to think and nature always helps with that."

He paused for a split second, faltering in his steps but not quite asking that question that they both knew lingered on his tongue; the taller teen flashed him a small reassuring smile, just enough to tell him that it was fine and he wouldn't be stepping on his toes by coming along. The relief of that single unspoken gesture made Yugi want to sigh in relief but he managed to fight it off and follow him instead.

Yami took them through the city to a small little creek in the woods and led the way from there, following it and not once looking unsure of where he was going.

"You come here often?"

"Ooh, pick up lines used in an actual conversation."

Yugi laughed and shook his head. "I'm awesome like that."

He chuckled softly. "Yes."

For a second he didn't know if he was agreeing or if he was answering the question so instead he settled for applying it to both and smirked; oh yeah, he _was_ that awesome.

It wasn't too long a trip, unlike what Yugi had been thought it would be, about twenty minutes, and the trees offered sufficient shade; the rock that Yami climbed up and plopped down on was massive, facing in an upwards slope, and Yugi took a second to admire it before going over and taking a seat next to him.

"Nice spot."

"Isn't it?"

A squirrel chattered somewhere, a loud noise that made Yugi look around, but it was gone after a moment and he found himself instead listening to Yami's soda bottle being opened again. For a moment he settled for munching on his M&Ms and just listening to the soft stirring of wind against the branches, finding himself oddly relaxed and glancing at Yami sideways to find that his elbows were against his knees, eyes staring off into the trees, looking relaxed but his gaze troubled.

He licked his lips, glancing at Yami's soda for a second, startled when the other teen reached over and grabbed it, passing it to him. "Uh, t-thanks."

"Mm."

Yugi happily took a sip, trembling slightly at the cold temperature and the way the bubbles felt against his tongue, and then put it back down between them, surprised when he found that the other teen was sitting up straight now, frowning and looking anything but happy.

Yami chewed his thumbnail, staring at the leaves in the trees overhead and mumbling, "I…I need to tell you something."

Yugi looked at him for a moment, frowning and staring when the taller teen refused to look at him. "What? What's wrong?" he demanded immediately, eyes wide and breath coming out a little too fast, feeling sick to his stomach with worry; the other teen still wouldn't look at him even when a few minutes passed between them silently. The wind shifted the leaves in the canopy overhead and for a second Yugi thought he saw the eye in the center of the Puzzle gleam, the air around them seeming to shift and fear beginning to bubble up in his stomach like acid. Oh gods, was he going to go through that…change again? Become dark and cold and callous and violent?

Yami reached up, stroking the piece for a long minute, turning his head at first to say something that vanished on his lips immediately when their eyes locked and he caught the concern lingering there. He turned away again, a sigh coming out and his entire body seeming to sag forward slightly; half of Yugi wondered—not for the first time—if maybe he was bipolar, if perhaps the Puzzle brought it out…

"I…"

"Yami. Seriously, what's wrong?" the smaller demanded immediately, swallowing hard in pure fear and unease; the other teen opened and closed his mouth, turned to him with a look that said he was both scared of the reaction and so reluctant that he almost seemed to be clenching his jaw. The muscles jumped as they stared at each other and then slowly the words—and Yugi  _knew_ they were not the ones intended—tumbled out.

"I slept with Mai."

He stared at him for a long time, unable to actually look away, blinking several times and slowly making sense of the statement. Oh gods. Did he just…?

"Why are you telling me this?" Yugi finally breathed out, lungs feeling crushed and weak, a wheeze of noise with the most awkward of words that seemed to stumble and falter and die in the air between them.

Yami blinked once, opening and closing his mouth, clearly unnerved and reluctant to answer or offer the actual words that had been sitting on his tongue when he had originally begun to speak.

"…I thought that you deserved to know. I…I…"  _Am a coward,_ Yami thought, shaking his head slightly and closing his eyes tightly.  _A terrible, pathetic coward_.  _Like my father. Like my mother…_

Yugi watched a shudder run through him, clearly caught up in his thoughts, straining to catch the words that bubbled up out of his mouth, so horrible in their gentle volume that the small teen wanted to vomit.

"I did inherit something from them. Cowardice. It's like a poison. Festering beneath my skin…"

"Yami—"

"I am a hypocrite," he murmured louder, at first sounding too sharp and then lowering his tone to make it softer, steadier, as if he were not sure the words were right but he had to get them out anyways, looking over at him and grinding his teeth together. "I proclaimed you the slut but you never…"

"I told you a lot of things," Yugi argued weakly, voice strained and threatening to fall into stale silence like his knees that quivered even from where he was gripping at the stone so hard that he knew he only had to look to see just how white his knuckles had become…

"That doesn't excuse anything." He paused and grabbed at his hair. "And I am so sorry for—"

"We're not together," he interrupted brusquely, nearly flinching at his own voice and feeling as if the world may have been spinning around him… "You can sleep with anyone you want."

"I…I don't want to sleep with someone else."

Yugi was just amazed that he hadn't fallen off the stupid rock. "But you're allowed to. I—there aren't any rules to this, Yami. You're free to—"

"It doesn't matter what I am  _free_  to do!" Yami spat coldly. "Just that I did it and I…I am sorry."

Yugi didn't have to think about it to realize he meant the hypocrisy and whatever it was he had shied away from telling him moments before rather than sleeping with her.

* * *

Yugi only brought it up once, while they sat on the couch, Yami stretched out with his head in his lap after the smaller teen had coaxed him into it, the comedy on the TV drawing a few laughs from them both but failing to clear the air between them, the tension thick but still somehow soft and flexible, lingering there like a blanket but not forcing itself on them lie it should have been.

"Did you really sleep with Mai?"

The taller teen merely looked at him and that single glance said it all. He hadn't lied when they were in the woods. Yes, he had slept with her. No, he would not apologize for it.

"Do you…do you love her?"

He was silent for a long time, turning back to the TV and Yugi fought against the lump that was forming in his throat; if he said yes…

"Not in the same way that I love you," he finally stated, turning his head and looking at him again, red eyes searching his and making Yugi want to tremble. "It's completely platonic."

She was Mai. And Mai was his friend, nothing more and nothing less.

He loved her and would do anything for her, but the feelings that came with it…the ones he felt for Yugi, they didn't come when he was with her. He didn't feel like he  _had_ to see her every day, he didn't feel need to protect her, he didn't feel that desperation that crawled beneath his skin when he wondered if she was okay. That fire in his veins, the ache in his chest, the pain that laced through his entire body, did not exist when she was not around him.

Yugi watched him closely, absentmindedly moving his hand to stroke at his hair, seeing that the other boy was already concentrated on the movie again or at least feigning it; vaguely he wondered if maybe Yami didn't realize that he had just said he loved him again but another part of him argued that it was possible he did and just didn't want to give Yugi the satisfaction of apologizing for the statement.

But then, Yugi didn't really  _want_ him to apologize.

* * *

Yugi didn't have to open his eyes to know that Yami was staring at him even as his fingers traced small lines over his stomach and his knee nudged gently at his inner thigh, his breath ghosting over his cheek as he leaned forward to press his nose into his skin; he didn't have to open his eyes to recognize the soft brush of lips against the edge of his mouth or know the position the other teen had taken, hovering over him, stretched out across him, in between his legs with his hands on either side of his arms.

"I know you're awake."

"Not at all," Yugi argued groggily, licking his lips and turning his face away, humming when he ended up unconsciously brushing noses with the other boy.

"Sleep talking didn't seem to be one of your habits the other day."

He smirked but didn't do much more than offer a soft, "Actually, you said awake which insinuates that I'm fully conscious and aware of everything around me. I can't say that when my eyes are still shut and I  _might_ just be able to fall back asleep."

Yami raised an eyebrow, smirking in response and lowering his mouth to his ear, licking at the flesh of his cheek; the smaller teen shuddered beneath him but didn't open his eyes. "You wish to sleep in another couple of hours?"

"More like a  _few_ more," he replied. "I  _absolutely_ want to. But…you should definitely still feel free to do whatever it is you have in mind…"

"Really now?" he chuckled softly. "So you will just continue to lie there and let me take you however I please?"

"That sounds like the best idea that's been suggested all week!"

Yami snorted in laughter and grabbed his wrists, pinning them over his head and curiously tracing his left forefinger over his flank, a small pattern that made Yugi shudder again. "I don't think you understand how much I plan to enjoy this little body of yours," he purred, staring at him and tracing the contours of his soft face in the moonlight. "It would be a shame if you were to miss out on that experience."

"Enjoy it  _quietly_ ," Yugi stated, licking his lips and not bothering to open his eyes. "I'm still trying to sleep, Yami."

"See, that's a problem for me," the taller teen muttered, rolling his eyes. "I am by  _far_ too egotistical to enjoy you alone by allowing you to sleep through me having sex with you."

Yami watched his lips twitch in amusement but the statement still lacked the momentum to wake him. "I'm not sure you have a say in that matter, honestly, Yami. I'm tired and I want to stay asleep."

The taller teen narrowed his eyes, partly sexually frustrated but mostly relishing in the task of waking Yugi completely, humming as he reached out and pinched his nipple; the other teen disguised his gasp of shock as a simple yawn, turning his face away and doing so without so much as a thought.

"Such a little tease," he rejoiced playfully, trailing his finger down his chest with just enough pressure to make Yugi gasp and tremble, shaking for a second before calming once more; he pressed a small kiss to his cheek, half tempted to lick his entire cheek up to his temple and maybe slobber a little just so that he could surprise him but instead fought the impulse away. The idea of playing to see who had the stronger pull was an interesting concept to him and he fully planned to see just how far into it he could take the other teen; the prize would be all the more rewarding when he was given that sense of accomplishment he would get no other way. "Open your eyes, little game"—Yugi shivered at the sultry note but it was the nickname that lingered more in his mind than the light touch of sexual energy that settled into his voice playfully—"It is time for you to come out and play."

"Sorry, Yami, but I'm not really in the  _mood_ to come out and  _play_ with you right now," he yawned dismissively. "But there are plenty of toys all around for you to play with if you want."

Yami snickered softly and moved to press his face into the hollow of his neck, smirking lightly against his skin, the curve of his lips making Yugi feel as if something had just struck a fuse in his nerves, sparks burning through him like fire. He gasped when the first finger pressed inside of him, the sudden intrusion making him reach out to grasp at Yami's shoulders, sinking his fingers into his skin out of surprise, but he was immediately relaxed again a second later, breathing a little hard in his half-awake state that was rapidly growing more alert.

"Your toys, Yugi, are only  _half_ the fun and I intend to enjoy myself to the fullest."

He let out a soft whimper when the second finger pressed into him, the other teen stopping for a second, listening before chuckling as he realized the noise had escaped him purely out of desire and not pain.

"That wasn't for you," he snapped coldly, yawning at him and smacking his lips loudly in order to keep Yami from hearing the tremble that had threatened to spread through his voice as his fingers very slowly began to stretch and sort their way inside him, smooth pads of the digits tickling and soothing and leaving trails of fire and lightning that made him want to scream with frustration; how dare he torture him like this? The fucker knew  _exactly_ where his goddamned prostate was and playing with him like this…That stupid boy was just so sadistic and cruel. "That was only because of the dream I am having, you conceited asshole."

"Ah. Well then, Yugi, enlighten me about the events of this dream," Yami stated simply, coaxing another hiss of breath from the other when he ran his ring finger along the underside of his penis before it was pushed inside of him as well. "What is it you're dreaming about?"

"You," the smaller teen scoffed, snorting out a laugh of pure amusement when he felt Yami stop for a split second and knew he was glaring playfully at him.

"Well. Now I'm curious. What am I doing to you in this dream of yours?"

Yugi paused for a second, thinking about what to say before mumbling, "Missing my prostate on purpose because you're an ass."

The other teen burst out laughing and he was tempted to open his eyes and watch but ignored it in favor of listening. "And it feels  _remarkably_ real, right, Yugi? Like it actually  _could_ be happening?"

"Well, considering you're an ass most of the time  _anyways_ ," he drawled, "I would say it's  _stunningly_ realistic."

"Am I now?"

"Yes." When Yami didn't move again, he started to peek but instead settled for moving his hands to his back, trailing his fingers up the back of the soft material of his shirt and up to his shoulders. A small bit of muscle quivered once but was motionless again a second later, surprising him slightly before something connected in his head and his eyes snapped open, staring at the other teen in the darkness.

Even without them being completely joined he was loving him, Yugi realized belatedly, momentarily confused before his eyes widened drastically; he was apologizing physically for judging him despite the fact that he had been the one to mislead him the entire time, for having sex with Mai and not being completely faithful despite the fact that they weren't together. He half-wanted to vomit but mostly felt the desire to sob out loud.

That stupid, stupid boy.

That stupid, beautiful, broken boy.

Yugi shook his head slightly to fight off the thought and closed his eyes tightly before pressing his nails into his flesh harshly; the other teen went rigid for a second and then his eyes singled in on him, dilated and confused and seeming like glass in the way he seemed so completely lost.

At first Yami's eyes were unfocused as they drew in his face but something cleared in them after a second, blinking and then smirking at him widely when he murmured, "Your eyes are open."

Yugi stared at him for a long minute; was he bipolar? How did he go from being so worried that he froze in place to smirking at him playfully like he was?

"Mmhmm."

But what was that second thing hiding in his eyes like that?

* * *

"Can you read what it says on the side of the box?" Yugi asked curiously.

"To the one who completes my puzzle, is the power and knowledge of darkness given."

Yugi turned his head towards him and stared; was it just him or did Yami's voice grow a little deeper, frustrated and laden with exhaustion? He spared a swift glance at the box and then back at him; maybe the Puzzle and its box made Yami nervous or something. "What does that mean exactly?"

Yami shrugged and kept the Puzzle where it was, not even bothering with a glance towards Yugi or the box or the ancient artifact. "No one knows."

But he was starting to get an idea of it.

As far as he knew from experience, it wasn't a  _magic_ power. The darkness was not a magic power.

It was bred in the human race.

It was the knowledge and power of the darkness  _inside_ of people.

That was what it meant as far as he was concerned. Nothing more, nothing less.

But that power seemed rather massive.

And he had yet to experience the powers that were  _rumored_ for it to have.

Although…maybe that was what the dreams were. Fire and darkness, voices and screams, yells of pain, choking and laughter…so much laughter…

They were jumbled messes that didn't make him freak out upon waking but refused to leave his mind whatsoever and they burned the very foundation of his thoughts, seared into his brain like he was branded. And while he couldn't tell what the hell was going on in them, he got enough inside of it all to recognize the flashes of light that danced beneath thick smoke that choked his lungs, the screams of pain and some of them yelling about a devil, other sounds like the shot of a gun being fired…

Yami looked at the Puzzle around his neck. If he had not been wearing it the day his father had come the weekend after he visited Seto at the Kaiba Corp building, who knows what would have happened? He obviously would not have brandished that knife against him.

The Puzzle brought out his darkness. It made him strong enough to face his father. But in the meantime it tired him out. It was like he traded energy to be able to protect himself. It was like being in survival camp all over again.

But if it was his darkness that the Puzzle drew out of him…

What the fuck were those  _other_  dreams about?

If the Puzzle brought out his darkness, had it done it for his ancestor as well? Was that how he became so powerful? How he could rule a nation of that magnitude and still expand all before he turned seventeen?

The Puzzle brought out Atem's darkness, made him dark enough to call the shots that he couldn't before.

Just as it did with Yami now…

* * *

"Actually, the shelf was put in because Grandpa would use it to keep me still when I was two and he had to give me a bath," Yugi replied, laughing when Yami's eyes flickered away towards the door of the bathroom and back in shock, somewhat disbelieving. "Anyways, so yeah, that's why that was put in the shower. I was a really troublesome kid when I was younger. You would not believe how much crap I got into from elementary to middle."

Yami raised an eyebrow and then laid his legs across his lap lazily, only vaguely surprised when the smaller unconsciously began to run his fingers over the one nearest to him, a soft curl of a hum flowing out. "Yeah?"

Yugi grinned widely and then leaned towards him with a teasing light to his blue-violet eyes. "You should see my middle school yearbook photos," he snickered. "I used to have so many scrapes and scratches and used to cover myself in so many band-aids that Grandpa couldn't even show my picture to anyone because it always looked like he was abusing me."

Yami threw his head back and laughed. "Holy shit! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, whatever it was that made it happen, I always got a scrape and bruise or a busted nose or lip right before picture day. Every. Single. Year."

"And freshman year?"

Yami had been behind him in line for the pictures, Yugi remembered after a moment, confused by the question, his eyes widening as he recalled that he had heard Yami and Mana and Mahado talking behind him and had literally turned around at one point because he didn't understand why those two were friends with him in the first place, that idea that Yami was only popular because he had good grades still intact back then. He remembered his blatant stare, slightly irritated but mostly curious with a side of plain boredom, had drawn all three students' attention, red eyes regarding silently and without expression, a pair of purple curious and blue-green eyes wide with surprise. It was actually the only time that he had interacted with Yami at all in ninth grade outside of watching him and Joey argue about how Yami was  _not_ Yugi and Joey needed to get his eyes checked before Yami beat the crap out of him.

"Um…well, I discovered the beauty of makeup. My grandpa finally got a little fed up with the occasional question about whether or not I was being abused." He laughed and pressed a small kiss to Yami's lips at his stunned expression, making his red eyes widen drastically at the sudden action, before jumping up and running off; when he came back he handed him three books, smirking widely and tapping the hard cover of the top book. "Those are the _only_ three yearbooks I have from elementary to middle that  _don't_ have completely scratched out pictures."

Yami burst out laughing again and then opened one, starting to flicker through the pages before looking at him for assistance; Yugi blinked a couple of times before remembering that Yami had never encountered a yearbook before this moment. Even in ninth grade, he had not once seen him touch one outside of signing them; he hadn't even bought one, instead opting for signing and joking around with all of them. And then he felt horrible because Yami had missed out on a lot in life.

"Here, let me see this." He took a seat next to him, pushing their legs together, and started sorting through the pages before flipping to his class and handing it back, pointing to himself. "Band-aids, bruises, and a busted lip. I do not lie."

Yami burst out laughing again before shaking his head; Yugi went about flipping open the other two yearbooks as well before handing them to him. The red-eyed teen looked down at the next and then cried from laughing so hard, clutching at his stomach as pain from his lack of breath flew through him.

"Holy crap!" Yami choked out, wiping at his eyes. Yugi laughed with him, smiling at the picture and chuckling a little louder with him. A thirteen-year-old Yugi stared out at them, petulant and refusing to smile and show his teeth, his nose swollen, his left eyebrow covered in a band-aid, hair ruffled and looking grimy, eyes glaring pensively, almost as if he would huff at them that very moment if he could. "Oh my god. I can't believe how hilarious you look!"

Yugi pushed his face away by the forehead, rolling his eyes. "I bet you would have had some just as bad as me if you had ever been in one."

Yami shook his head. "I would have gotten my ass beaten until I couldn't sit for three years if I ever disgraced my parents with a photo that wasn't perfect," he responded with a frown, the laughter immediately gone. And then he felt horrible because Yugi went silent with him and his smile was gone as well, which made Yami feel sick because Yugi was beautiful and he felt like Yugi should always be smiling.

But Yugi was really wishing that Yami had never gone through that in the first place, his teeth finding his lip to pull some flesh with his back molars digging into his right cheek. At least Yami hadn't turned out like someone else might have if they had gone through that. He knew he himself probably wouldn't be anything remotely like Yami, who somehow was strong enough to maintain his rather friendly but highly introverted personality. Anyone else and he thought they might have turned out like Ushio.

Or possibly even him.

Honestly, he didn't know which was worse anymore.

* * *

"Do you really love me?" he asked, ignoring the way his body tingled and his mind told him to shut up and just melt into the sensation of Yami's fingers dancing over his body through his clothing. But his heart yearned for the words, for that deep-rooted affection in his eyes, the visual and verbal signs of the emotion, the thing that he had been missing for what felt like an eternity now, only granted in that split second before his mouth had opened.

"Well, that's just great. Thank you for killing the mood, Yugi," he muttered, pulling away and messing with the remote, no longer even able to face him; he hadn't meant to let his expression slip like he had. That look of keen adoration was never meant to be shown in the first place. He had been blocking it for days now, but for whatever reason it snuck out at this moment.

"Don't do that. Don't shut me out the one time that I actually  _try_  to really talk to you about shit that matters. It's something I've been wondering about since you said it." He wanted to know. His selfish, greedy heart yearned for the words, though his mind repelled them as if they might be poisonous.

"Why are you doing this? Why now? I thought we were going to just put this behind us and be fuck buddies again," he snapped, not really meaning for the biting words but angry and feeling cornered, almost as if Yugi was mocking him with his desire to discuss this.

"All right, you know what? Forget it," Yugi muttered, rolling his eyes in annoyance; his heart felt heavy in his chest for a moment, threatening to slip into his stomach. "But, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm open to it, okay? I just…I want to make things good with us and I want to do it the right way."

"Well, you could start by fucking me like I asked you to a minute ago," Yami deadpanned. He wasn't about to do this. This was some kind of trap and he wasn't one for falling for them. He was floundering as it was with everything going on, especially with the knowledge that Yugi was going to throw him aside soon enough for Rebecca. Ra, how long until their date? Had they already picked a day? Or was Yugi still not doing it yet?

But he would soon enough, because, of course, he had made a deal with her and Yugi  _hardly_ seemed like one to back out on a deal.

Yugi sighed once, not because the idea was unappealing—because it  _was_ by  _all_ means—but because he was denied what he wanted, though in retrospect asking him after his own little terror of calling him  _his_ Yami, while his mind was so full of fear that he was attached to the other boy, honestly  _did_ seem like some kind of setup to make Yami say it so that he could recoil and push him away again like he had been doing before…

* * *

How had he been weaseled into this? How had Yugi managed to convince him to allow him to fuck him in the forest? On the ground…against a  _rock_? In Konami Mountains…

His shoulders were definitely not happy with the sensation of his skin being roughed up against the grainy surface and his spine echoed its dismay at the sensation of Yugi's hard thrusts sending him further and further up the relatively smooth granite stone.

And his muscles whispered words of ache and pain that he knew he would regret later but not then, because for the moment, despite the small cuts, despite the way his body hissed away from the blue-striped silver of the black-flecked white stone, it was mewling with pleasure and buckling with pure satisfaction at the sensation of Yugi's penis sliding in and out of him at such a rapid pace.

The teeth in his neck…how much he loved the sensation of the little white canines tugging gently at his golden-bronze skin, leaving him growling in delight despite the mewls that left his open lips in ragged pants.

* * *

Even lying against him, with only warm cloth separating their skin, Yugi found it a struggle to get close enough. It made him twist in his skin and he felt like he was stuck at some kind of fork in the road. Yami twitched in his sleep next to him, breathing even and his exhales ghosting over his skin softly.

There had to be a balance for this.

Because Yami loved him too softly.

But if he was honest with himself…he was starting to think that maybe he might love Yami too hard.

* * *

"Promise me you won't say it again," he'd begged, wincing when Yami stared at him in confusion, eyes wide as he tilted his head, not knowing what else to do because he didn't know what the hell Yugi was talking about in all honesty. "Don't say it again."

He hadn't said it in a long time so he didn't understand why Yugi was freaking out. Then again, perhaps it was wrong of him to press at it that he wanted to hear Yugi say those two words again, the two that he had whispered in the darkness with the obvious thought that he had not been awake. But he had, in some place between sleep and awareness and half the time he wondered if he had been hearing things, because the second he had tried to focus on it again, he was too far gone to even stay awake.

Now, as they took space in the woods, sitting against the stupid rock where Yugi had fucked him only the day before, Yami was leaned forward with his right arm against his bent knee, his other leg pressed firmly against the ground while Yugi held his hand next to him. They had only started coming out here in the first place because they were both well aware that they would have heard it if someone came to record them or something.

There was the constant chatter of birds in the trees and the gentle whisper of the branches as they stirred in the wind, and the occasional small animal would be spotted moving around in the undergrowth though neither had paid attention to them, instead lost in their own thoughts.

"Why are we holding hands?" Yami muttered, not harshly but beyond curious and severely confused, cutting him a sideways glance with his head tipped to the side, not entirely sure of his own placement in the cooling air of the setting sun.

"Does it bother you?" Yugi asked curiously, raising an eyebrow in confusion. He could find no reason for Yami to dislike it. It seemed like something he would want in the first place, right?

"No, but surely you realize that it indicates something much more," Yami said with narrowed eyes, watching him closely with a darkened gaze, studying him silently as Yugi's eyes widened in shock.

"I thought you said you would stop doing that," Yugi said quickly, inwardly panicking, unwilling to give birth to his secret statement and regretting his harsh tone when Yami snatched his hand back as if burned, watching him with wide eyes that seemed to glitter like cold ice. "That was part of the deal we made, right out here, r-remember?"

Both of them ignored the stutter in his words, but both they were sent reeling by the sensation of disconnection between them, Yami clenching his jaw as he wondered harshly why he had ever agreed to stop saying or implying anything of the emotions that Yugi showed him most of them time in his instability but never voiced. To stop testing to see if Yugi had really said the words that buzzed in the back of his head and left him confused and tired with the reverberation of their implications that made his mind chaotic.

It could have been to placate the smaller boy. It could have been just because he was trying to stop his mind from swimming with the chaos of his thoughts. Or, more likely, it was because he was in his little haze of after-sex after being fucked against the very rock they were perched on.

No matter the reason, he truly hated himself and his choices at that moment.

"I did," he noted, clenching his jaw momentarily; his voice bit out against the cold air and made Yugi swallow hard as those blood red eyes turned as hard as granite before him though the question of  _Aren't we past deals, Yugi_? shown in his eyes for a split second. "I agreed to  _try_."

But did pointing out the obvious, that their handholding, that Yugi had initiated it rather than him, was that truly pushing at the subject of their attachment to each other? He didn't see how it was except for the fact that maybe his tone had sounded off, possibly sly, but he hadn't meant it to and when he thought about it, he did not hear that in his voice at all.

Regardless, no bringing it up. At all.

His veins flared a fresh burst of unfiltered shame as Yami started to draw into himself, his eyes hardening and glistening to the point that they had turned into the equivalent of two blocks of blood-stained ice, his jaw clenched and a muscle jumping as his teeth ground together, an instinctive shift of position pronouncing just how badly Yugi had managed to fuck up with his statement.

He reached out, no thought in his head but to quell the pain, his heart spilling forth and his body flooding with a blatant urgency to sooth the ache he had inflicted upon the red-eyed teen, his fingers grasping at his arm gently, soft in their touch, his eyes wide and pleading as they bore into the other boy's.

The ache that he was  _constantly_ inflicting.

"I'm sorry. That…it's not what I meant," he whispered softly, his voice barely heard despite the fact that the growing darkness was drawing forth the silence of the creatures moving around, watching as Yami regarded him for a long minute before finally his head tuned away, staring blankly at the ground. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

 _I know you love me and I'm sorry I can't reciprocate_. _It only makes things harder than it already is_.  _I wish things were so much simpler than this_.  _I wish I didn't constantly bruise your heart further_.  _I'm so sorry to be cause of your pain_ …

But mostly, he was sorry that he couldn't say the words to him.

Because he knew that Yami would listen.

He was always willing to listen.

* * *

The pain shot through his leg and left him clenching his jaw as he held his thigh, eyes narrowed into slits at the sensation of the pulled muscle; he didn't acknowledge the door opening and the reappearance of the smaller teen who watched him curiously from where he was approaching the nest of blankets and pillows that they had constructed after Yami had uncharacteristically complained that the floor hurt his back.

Which kind of brought up the question why he was still so insistent about sleeping together in the bathroom; the videos had already been leaked as it was, so what was the point of them doing this?

But Yugi never asked because he didn't truly care for the answer; the point was that Yami wasn't running from him and they were together and it was easy enough even if things were hardly the way either of them wanted them. Maybe the situation sucked but it was definitely made somewhat more bearable by the red-eyed teen's presence.

"You okay?" Yugi wondered, eyes wide as he looked at him, crouching next to him and tilting his head in pure curiosity, confused as the other boy continued to study his leg.

He stretched his leg out experimentally, hissing in pain before pulling it towards him once more, sitting up and looking it over. "I'm fine. Just pulled a muscle," he said honestly, wondering about whether or not he should try to massage it but finding himself a little irritated with the train of thought as it did not truly gather his attention.

"Too much sex and you pull a muscle," Yugi said in a slightly awed voice, blinking once before shooting him a wide smirk, eyes shining in amusement. "Must be from bottoming."

Yami turned his head, blinking once, startled by the comment, smirking widely at his teasing before turning back; Yugi had insisted on topping every time the last three days and it was really no wonder that he was growing tired. It was getting a little frustrating to remain as he was without complaints, biting them off constantly before they could exit his mouth, his lack of control tearing into him like barbs sinking into his flesh.

Yugi reached out and grasped his wrist, startling him slightly even as he leaned forward between his legs, grinning as he teased, "Want to see if we can even you out a little?"

His fingers were gentle yet firm around his wrist, feeling his pulse even though it did not leap beneath his touch, Yami snickering, "I think I prefer being able to  _use_ my legs" with a gleam to his eyes that was nothing short of mocking.

He was unsurprised when Yugi's tongue was stuck into the hollow of his collarbone, dragged up the column of his neck, teeth nipping at his jaw before he slid lower; frustration surged through his heated skin when still Yami's pulse did not falter in its steady rhythm, neither jumping nor skipping in its easy touch beneath his fingers. The look to his eyes said nothing, gave Yugi nothing, and his lack of movement made his head spin with need; he wanted the connection back. He wanted it far more than he ever wanted anything else. Saying his name, demanding Yami answered, was not something he could find in himself to do and instead he found himself studying him, gauging, measuring, all the while bleeding beneath his skin with need.

His heart did not skip, it did not jump and flutter. Instead it remained as it always was, steady in its way, not once faltering despite the fact that some perspiration had bloomed beneath his ribs when Yugi stroked at it with his tongue. The mist of salt made his tongue burn with desire, desperate for more, for some kind of reaction that his body gave without Yami's active knowledge.

He pulled his wrist closer to him, surprised that Yami had not broken from his grasp as he might have months before, instead settling for allowing his arm to be pulled forward towards Yugi's, pressing his pelvis against Yami's and coaxing his legs a little wider.

But the moan Yami let out when he took his nipple into his mouth and ran his tongue over it was flat and sounded weighted, tired, by all means weak in its timbre.

"Are you all right?" he murmured softly, pulling away to look at him, but red eyes wouldn't look at him, instead staring at the wall and when he twisted to face him, they flickered towards the ceiling and away from his altogether.

Was it the nightmares? He knew sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night and find that Yami had left the bed in favor of sitting at the desk playing on his phone while it charged or that the other teen was wide awake and laying still for him, trying not to wake him, staring at the sky through the ceiling. He'd started finding him wide awake more often than not now, something that made his head hurt but he didn't know how to make it better and Yami didn't give him answers so it hardly gave him a clue as to how to help him…

He was slipping beneath his grasp, pulling away even as his tense body welcomed him, every single bit of what Yugi was used to feeling when pleasing the teen beneath him completely gone in an instant. He wasn't going to just let that happen; he refused, which was exactly why he slid his hands to Yami's inner thighs and stroked with needy fingers, pinching with his nails to make Yami growl softly and curl his lip back in surprise before stroking at his balls with the pads of his fingers, a nail tracing the vein that throbbed on the underside of his erection. He was well aware that his desperation showed in his actions, that his alarm was tangible as he struggled to draw Yami back to him, but it was all he could use to reel him back, something that even the stubborn red-eyed teenager could never deny him, and slowly Yugi felt him relax beneath him, moaning softly into the sex-coated air of the bathroom.

"You said…I was yours," Yami suddenly muttered breathlessly, reaching out and twisting his wrist free to grip both of Yugi's, holding his hands still to ensure he could not be distracted further; it took him a moment to remember but yes, he had said that a while back, so long ago that it felt like forever had passed between then and now, when he had thought that Yami had fallen asleep. "Is that…still true?"

 _My Yami_ …

Yami's eyes were dark, expressionless and nearly black with the dilation of his pupils, gaze narrowed in frustration, demanding an answer that Yugi had no idea how to give him. Instead he went about pulling his own hand free to grip Yami's pulse again, desperate for some kind of connection that Yami couldn't completely severe. His pulse was slowing beneath his fingers, startling him enough to draw his attention towards them but a snicker made his eyes snap back towards the taller teen, blinking several times as he realized that Yami was playing with him, making his pulse falter as it had. Dear gods, Yami could control his own pulse…

"What else did they teach you in that stupid camp?" he spat angrily, denial of his own warped happiness making his frustration spike to new heights. Yami merely smirked in response, daring him to do something more, and Yugi narrowed his eyes before returning the gesture, pressing their hips together and sliding his body against his in gentle strokes.

Yami bit back the moans, raw and desperate, that crept towards his throat but did not kill them completely, the sound like a curious mixture of a purr with the edge of a croak. Yugi honestly had to congratulate himself and feel proud that he had not given in to the urge of hissing at him as his body gripped him like a vice as he pressed into him without warning; any other time he had done this and Yami would have lashed out angrily because of lack of preparation but they had just finished only thirty minutes before so it did not hurt him in the least, his body accepting him without prompt.

But still, Yugi gave no answer, and the raw ache in the other's eyes was dangerous on his face.

Yami's eyes shut after a moment and Yugi hissed at the sensation of losing the intense gaze, the only thing that seemed even slightly emotional as he pressed against him, growling, "Look at me" with a hint of steel to his voice and expression; the glimmer that Yami's gaze gave off when he opened his was too intense so he finally just looked away again, feeling stupid for thinking that Yami had closed his eyes for any other reason than to spare him.

The smaller one was terribly confused by the emotions that made his blood run as it did, but they were dark and dangerous and deep. "Yami, you are  _here_ _with me_  and this is  _happening_ ," he announced heatedly, turning back and watching the red gaze narrow into slits as he released his wrist to touch where his ribs had been broken, laying his palm flat against his skin and studying him. He drew himself up onto both knees and locked Yami's legs around his waist without missing a single motion, his thrusts deep and burning with the frantic edge of his desperation.

Yugi's lips drew into a wide lopsided smirk as Yami's eyes slid shut after a moment, loving the way that he let out a low moan with each of this thrusts before suddenly his eyes popped open to stare at him in pure confusion, the lost expression making his body feel smug as his lips curled into a small smirk.

"Something wrong?"

"Son of a bitch," he hissed in annoyance, his tone bordering a snarl. "Stop teasing me."

Yugi snickered in delight before sliding his arms under his waist and holding him like that, his fingers dancing over his tailbone for a moment before sinking his nails into his soft flesh, eliciting a small growl mixed with a purr at the terrible mix of pleasure and pain. "No thank you, Yami, I think I like having my way with you like this." Yami opened his mouth to snarl and snap at him but only let out a moan when Yugi slid his hand from his lower back to his pelvis to travel the dip of his bellybutton to his chest where he pressed his fingers momentarily against his heart before touching the pulse in his neck. Still it did not jump but for a second he could see into his eyes and the fleeting feeling of being connected sent his heart into overdrive. "I'm a very difficult person, Yami. And if we're being honest, you  _know_ I am yours to deal with."

 _You already know, you already know_ …

Yami's eyes clouded over momentarily, confused for a split second before his gaze grew wide, blinking several times as realization settled deep in his bones and left him staring despite the way his body reacted readily to Yugi's stimulations.

"You know, Yami, it damn well feels like you might  _just_ be mine right about now," Yugi snickered, his lips drawing into a wide smile, though his teasing dampened when Yami stared at him with eyes that seemed blind for a split second. "Do you feel it?"

The red eyes grew shadowed, darkened beneath the slight shadow of his lashes as a poignant sorrow flickered into them and left his blood boiling with rage.

"Don't look at me like that!" he snapped, desperation making his voice that much harsher. "Don't  _ever_ look at me like that!"

Yami hissed and writhed helplessly as he sank his nails into the small of his back, his pace growing that much more frantic with his outburst, as if he was scared he would make the taller teen withdraw completely.

"It feels like home…r-right?" he said under his breath, the question almost rhetorical in the way it never reached Yami's ears, fingers trailing up and down his collarbone before a single index tapped the skin over his heart, feeling his pulse flutter even in that small bit of contact, the answer Yami refused to voice in fear of feeling himself break into a million pieces.

The smaller teen smiled a little, a victorious light glinting in his wide blue-violet eyes, but he didn't push for a moment, instead watching him even as Yami's eyes flickered away and drew solace from the white of the counter to Yugi's left.

"Do you ever think about me more than just this?" Yugi questioned, feeling the soft fleece of the blanket beneath them grow that much warmer with the heavy implications of his own words; at least if he fell that much harder after all of this, he would land on something soft and warm and fuzzy enough to give the illusion of safety.

Yami remained silent for a while, long after the friction stopped and his body protested its desperation for his prostate to be happily played with, instead watching him with calculating eyes. "Yugi, tell me. What does my voice sound like to you?"

It was a strange question by all means but he understood it. Slowly, as his mind crept over the words and nurtured them mentally, seeking an answer to the odd inquiry, he understood it.

"Uh-uh Yami. I asked you first. Answer me first," he replied smoothly.

Yami held eye contact with him, did not bother to speak for a long time, and then finally growled, "Yes, yes, of course I fucking do, Yugi. I've thought of it a million times when I am alone. Outside of sex."

Yugi struggled to prevent the trembles that threatened to take him over, wrapping his arms lazily around the taller boy's waist and forcing himself to move in small leisurely strokes inside of the other teen. Yami reached out for his shoulders, twisted his body to pull himself up, and then glared into his eyes in response, breathing hard against his lips from behind his bared teeth.

Yugi found himself digging his fingers into Yami's side, desperate for that connection that was still lacking, wishing for a moment that he could reach inside of him and draw it forth again; his eyes took in the way that Yami's closed slowly, frustrated beyond his wit's end. "How's that, Yami?" he inquired mockingly, tilting him back slightly to change the angle of his thrusts and increase the friction they both craved.

Yami hissed at him but refused to open his eyes as he bit out the words, "I gave you an answer now I want mine.  _Tell_ me what my voice sounds like."

The smaller boy frowned slightly, his mind biting at his thoughts in sharp nips of desperation at being denied his much-needed emotional link with the other teen, but answered regardless, drawing in a small breath. "You…you're afraid," he answered in a ragged voice, feeling his skin twitch and quiver beneath his palms, the way his hips twisted under him as nails dug into his shoulders and he lowered Yami onto his back once more, no longer sitting back on his knees but stretching out over him again. "But you have no real reason to be afraid. I can guarantee you that much…Yami, you…you sound like…you're shaking inside."

Red eyes flickered open, startled, and pupils contracted to take up most of what should have been iris, a moan hissing out as darkness surged into blood; Yugi watched as his gaze grew desperate, staring at him and refusing to budge to look anywhere else.

"Most of time your voice comes out strong and clear, self-assured and confident, but when you're scared…it comes out unsure and broken and so soft that I can barely hear you…"

Yami blinked once and then narrowed his eyes into slits, the shadows making his eyes turn completely black but one small ring of red that made Yugi's skin crawl.

"You're afraid I'm not going to need you anymore," he said softly to himself, his voice barely loud enough to carry over his harsh pants, watching as a single golden-bronze hand reached out to gain purchase against the door of the shower, palm flat and pressed hard against the frosted glass to help him thrust back into him, those desperate red eyes not once leaving his. "You're worrying that once high school doesn't hold us here, that once we get older, I won't need you anymore."

When teeth nipped his neck, he arched back over his arms and let out a growl, both of them falling over the edge; Yugi collapsed against him and breathed hard while Yami stared blankly up at the ceiling, trying in vain to catch his breath. It was only when he gradually opened his eyes that a dagger of discomfort stabbed its way through his consciousness as Yami stared back at him with a completely expressionless glass to cover his gaze.

"What?" Yugi sought through his memory for what he could have possibly said wrong as he stared into blank red eyes.

"What did you just say?"

It was strange. An insidious sickness that bordered on a past life that was parallel to his, something like a note or thought being passed from one to the next through the walls of his subconscious, his heart beating at three times its normal rate as the crash of his high came abruptly and his mind spiraled, his body growing so stiff, his muscles locked to the point that he could no longer move and his breathing came out in strained exhales, that Yugi had to pull away.

"What?" he repeated. "You asked me and I told you. It's true. I don't know what you wanted to hear, but I gave you what you  _asked_  for. I gave you the truth…"

Yami remained completely still, searching his eyes, and Yugi felt faintly annoyed that he had given Yami the answer he wanted only to be stared at like this; he recoiled when suddenly Yami sank his nails into his back and dragged up lines across his flesh, making him yelp in pain. The taller boy moved away from him so fast he almost didn't catch the movement and vaguely his mind questioned how Yami could possibly have that much energy as it was, especially when he started grabbing clothes and pulling them on—semi-out-of-order as he had to pull his pants off again when he realized that he didn't have his boxers on yet—before fleeing so fast it gave him whiplash.

He nearly fell over, overpowered by the stress that crowded into his mind, his head racing with thoughts as he realized belatedly that the Puzzle was still in the bathroom; his fingers trembled with the force of the knowledge, feeling sick to his stomach with the idea of having to face Yugi again so soon. But he did it anyways, throwing his fear aside to snatch it off the ground and feeling heat like flames course up his entire arm and then stir and flicker across the rest of his body before his insides started to grow warm as opposed to the cold fear they had been frozen in.

His attention flickered to the piece of gold in his hand, startled by the sensation, and narrowed his eyes as he drew the Puzzle into both hands, looking it over and feeling the edges burn sharply into his fingers, almost to the point that welts should have formed on the pads of his fingers and pain should have been prominent in the forefront of his mind. But instead, the heat was reassuring and did nothing to harm him.

His crazed mind was slowing, almost unnoticeably at first but picking up in pace…

They were flipping through his mind like a playing card, King of Clubs, the conqueror…such strange words that made him feel hollow and even worse inside, his entirely body shaking with the startling severity of the statement.

But what was the significance of it all?

Staring at the eye, it very slowly came to place in fragments.

Yugi had said it. But not in those exact words.

Red eyes flickered towards him and stared for a long minute.

Without those exact words…

Blue-violet eyes regarded him, slightly irritated, but mostly confused, somewhat desperate but more concerned…

Yami turned and, recognizing his cowardice and the way the Puzzle turned cold in his fingers at the thought, fled.

* * *

Yami scratched desperately at the memory, feeling as if something was going to slide through, away, and leave him behind. He could taste it, smell it, feel it, and if he only stretched his hands out, he could grasp it and draw it to him, inside of him, where it would become more prominent than the beating of his own heart. His dark crimson eyes shut tightly, willing himself to relive it, his nails scraping at the dark blue and black and red beneath his fingers that made up a larger pattern…oh so much larger…

He could feel it, feel icy fingers tugging softly at his skin and the way that it made his insides flutter. Mist dewing on his cheekbones and lashes, the cold stone beneath him, the gray arctic air of midnight overhead and around and everywhere.

He could taste warmth and vanilla and caramel and cinnamon, the promise of fate in his mouth.

Tilting forward onto his hands, held together on some fine edge, he could find a strange balance that was lilted and uneven, but gave him the opportunity to drown in the burn of his kiss, his head spinning with the acute recollection, his defenses crumbling away into the fog and plants beneath.

In the darkness, the movements of his mouth against his made him imagine he was confessing his darkest encrypted secrets to the red-eyed boy.

The memory did not match the actual event that transpired but if he was truthful with himself, he preferred this twisted version, the one that had not happened in the woods but rather the bathroom, than the actual one. He didn't want to remember the pillow against the back of his head scooting forward or Yugi's restraining grip, his hand reaching for the frosted glass door.

No, he preferred the darkness of the night, the clear shot of stars and clouds and the full moon overhead if he had only bothered to open his eyes and take it in, the feel of the rock scratching his skin, the nip of the cold air against his skin and infiltrating his burning lungs.

But the fact remained, no matter how he twisted the details of his memories to suit what he wished, because at least the pretense of the forest scene relaxed him more than the reality of the bathroom, and that fact was rather simple but complicated all in itself.

Yugi had said it…

Not in so many words, but he had said it…

* * *

_I love you so much, too much. I ache because of it. I can't live without you. But I…I can't see how I can keep you…_

Yugi looked over as if he had been called by name, locking eyes with him momentarily before the taller teen got up and went to the teacher, talking softly before grabbing his things and leaving the room.

He wondered again, not for the first time and he knew it certainly would not be the last, when Rebecca was going to take his place. And, like all those other times, he wished he could find the strength to fight but the battle would never be won and he didn't have the energy to waste trying to conquer a losing quarrel.

Because, when it came down to it, Yami knew in his heart he was going to lose.

In the event of Yugi against Yami, he always lost.

* * *

"Yami?"

"Mm?" he murmured tiredly before yawning and snapping his jaws loudly to cut the noise off, huffing gently as his eyes drifted, weighed down with his abruptly ended sleep, towards the clock to regard the numbers with irritation. "Yugi? What's…? Fuck, it's six in the morning."

"Grandpa…he…"

The sobbing choke of tears made Yami sit up, wide awake and alarmed and ready for bad news. "Where are you?"

"The hospital."

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Just wait for me, okay?"

"…Yeah…okay…"

It took twelve minutes instead of ten but Yugi didn't penalize him for the extra two because he was just happy Yami even came.

He didn't do the usual of asking how he was and he didn't just grab him up in his arms either, instead looking at him, waiting for him to say something, to acknowledge him, tell him what to do rather than assume anything.

For a moment Yugi hesitated because he himself didn't know what to do nor what he wanted, just that he needed someone with him, and it was rather obvious when he bit his lip once and then shot forward to hug him tightly, his fingers grabbing at the back of his leather jacket and bunching it up.

He wasn't crying anymore, because when Yami had said he would be there, he had felt safe enough to stop. He had felt safe enough to just wait for him. And that was more than he could have ever said for anyone else.

Yami rubbed his back but didn't say anything to him, instead asking one of the nurses for Solomon Motou's status, told from their lips rather than his that the elderly Motou had gotten a heart attack in the middle of the night and Yugi had just barely gotten to the phone in time to prevent his death.

He was stable but he hadn't woken up.

Someone at the desk gave him sympathetic looks that clearly said they didn't think he would.

But Yami had a gut feeling that he would pull through, because the old man seemed like a natural survivor. And at only sixty years of age that was a lot less of the time that Yami saw him alive for. No, Solomon was going to be fine.

He recognized it in him.

Even if they only met twice and Yami had been scared shitless because he recognized him, he knew for a fact that Solomon was going to wake up again and he was going to be there for Yugi afterwards for a long while yet.

So he didn't bother acknowledging the nurses, instead shooting them dark looks before turning away again, and then pushed Yugi away gently by the shoulders, offering a small smile when he said, "Thank you for calling me" in a soft voice.

"I…I didn't know who else to call," he muttered weakly, fingers shaking against his back. "I…I would have called Rebecca b-but…o-or e-even T-Tea or Joey or T-Tristan but…"

Yami understood the statement behind it. He was the first Yugi thought to call. And he was the only one he knew for sure who would be there as soon as possible and ready to help him in any way he needed.

"Come on, let's get you home, okay?"

Yugi glanced over at where his grandfather had disappeared down the hallway and then turned back with a tired nod; he wondered vaguely why Yami had taken a taxi instead of driving himself but then remembered that he had never seen Yami drive before and the possibility that he didn't know  _how_  crossed his mind. But he didn't ask anyways because it would have been too much for his tired mind.

Yugi brushed his teeth in silence, giving his face a cursory splash of cold water while the house seemed to throb with silent grief for the missing member in the hospital; Yami remained behind him the entire time, leaning against the doorframe and being nice enough to give the smaller teen space while reassuring him of his presence.

The blue-violet-eyed boy faltered when he caught his eye in passing in the reflection of the mirror when the taller boy glanced up to see if he was okay when he stilled like he did. For a moment neither of them moved and then Yugi slowly headed over to close the toilet lid and sit down, watching him with tired eyes.

"Ugh, I look like shit," Yami announced, walking over to the mirror and inspecting the harsh dark bags beneath his eyes, the way his hair seemed to droop, the way his pupils were dilated slightly, the way his posture seemed off with exhaustion. He wrinkled his nose at his reflection, muttering, "Did you fuck me while I looked like this?" and turned back to him with a teasing expression on his face.

Yugi offered a small tired half-smile, relieved that Yami was trying to lighten the mood by redirecting it towards himself, and shook his head slowly. "You don't look good enough to fuck right now," he joked, though the words came out strained but Yami didn't comment on that, instead giving him an overly offended glare and flipping him off playfully.

"I look better than you," he snapped in response, making Yugi let out a small laugh as he placed his hands on his hips, twisting his face into a sneer before winking and turning back to the sink, pressing his weight against the white wood and leaning forward, obviously losing himself in his head for a moment.

Yugi had a sneaking suspicion it was so that he could gather himself into being what he needed, so that he could bear the weight that Yugi had the potential of dropping on him, the weight that could possibly make his knees buckle and his legs give way beneath him. It was obvious that the stress of his grandfather as well as everything that had been happening recently was weighing him drastically and if he only pressed a little harder, he had no doubt that Yami would fold like a house of cards beneath it all.

But responsibility looked good on him. But for the hundredth time he wondered if Yami was really serious in the way that he thought Yugi had chosen to love him back. Because he honestly wasn't sure he could ever do it.

Not at the moment anyways.

But how long would their relationship last—if he were to give it a chance—before he got bored of him?

Yugi was horribly confused when Yami started for the stairs, staring after him and croaking a weak "A-are you going?"

The taller teen froze on the steps and then turned around. "I need to lock the door," he murmured softly in explanation.

"Oh." Yugi pulled on his pajama shirt and wandered into his room, listening and breathing out a sigh of relief when he heard Yami's footsteps approaching as he came back up the stairs, standing in the doorway for a moment. When he stretched his arms out, the taller boy complied without hesitation, coming over to his side, laying down next to him under the covers that Yugi had pulled back when he started across the room towards him; in the darkness, beneath the skylight, where a waning sphere of silver hung, the two teens found themselves sinking into that small space between grief and comfort, desperation and mortality. The silence of this space was thick and overbearing, weighing them both down drastically, only to be broken away when Yugi let out a small gasp of air and moved closer to clutch at his shirt, burying his face into the fabric, his breaths fractured and weak but loud enough to make the other boy's ears ring with a sympathetic kind of pain. His long fingers danced up and down his spine in a soothing manner, gossamer touches rather than actual rubs, because pressing the weight of his hand against his back felt oddly wrong in that moment and Yami didn't truly understand why, but it did.

Yami had no idea if he would actually welcome the gentle weight of his touch, or retreat from him. For so long they had been on opposite sides of the mirror and now that he had climbed through to him, he had no way of telling if he could handle this without the pane of glass between them.

He was falling asleep, Yugi sobbing into his shirt first before moving to his neck as his fingers grew slower against his clothed skin, when he heard them. Soft, weak, choked, tired, a cry for help…Three words. Small words with huge implications. Words he would not be able to give an answer to should he say them out loud, face to face, instead of against his skin.

 _Stay with me_ …

* * *

"Are you all right?"

It was a weak stab at normalcy, and it was half ruined by the roughness of his own throat which made his voice raspy and broken. But he had to do it, because if he didn't speak now, he was somewhat afraid of what he might do, of what Yugi might  _let_ him, of what he couldn't bear to let himself have. He wasn't going to take advantage of him, though he knew that Yugi was willing to let him, would beg him to do so if he only gave him a hint of his want.

Yugi felt his lips twist up in a sardonic, reluctant half-assed smile as he dragged his eyes away from him with visible effort, blinking and looking out the window as his gaze went from darkened, full of lust, to their regular blue-violet tone. A small, soft sigh like the whisper of the wind through the trees passed through his lips and Yami felt his body relax from where it had tensed in preparation to—What  _had_ he planned to do? Jump Yugi's bones if he asked? Flee? Fight him off if he made an advance?

None of them made sense to him. He had been worried about his own actions, about unwittingly throwing himself at Yugi, but that was merely the stress talking and the fact that it would do nothing for Yugi at the end of the day. Fleeing would solve nothing; Solomon would still be in the hospital, Yugi would still be sad, and if he fled, he knew he would never be able to face the smaller boy again. It just wouldn't be possible, not after leaving him when it was so terribly obvious that he needed him, not after he had  _asked_ him to stay; be it before he fell asleep or not, the words had still passed through his lips and Yami couldn't just disregard them because of his own selfish fears. Fighting off an advance when Yugi was so upset would just upset him more, so Yami truly had no idea what he intended to do.

"Thanks for…last night. I know it wasn't fun."

When he turned back to him, he looked completely sure of himself, not the least bit self-conscious, watching him; Yami had a split second where he wondered if maybe he had somehow imagined the way in which he clung to him, his body absorbing the smaller boy's tremors, the slide of his wet tears warming and trailing down his slender neck.

"I'm glad I was here." He watched Yugi for any sign of emotion but the smaller boy merely regarded him in return, just as guarded and unwilling to show off more of his pain; whether that was because he didn't want him to see it or if it was because he felt weak, Yami had no idea, but he didn't want to question him and pull him into a fight so he stayed silent, accepting it as if it were some kind of law. "What can I do now? I could go downstairs…?"

"Yami, just being here is enough," he stated simply, letting out a small yawn that sounded more like a coo of a noise, soft and gentle in volume. "You don't have to do anything."

Yet his own body screamed for movement, for action, because if he didn't busy himself with something or other, he was going to drown and he knew that once he did that, he would never find his way back up to the surface again and his floundering in the chaos of his mind only did so much. "I could contribute—"

"You're always trying so fucking hard to prove how much you deserve things," he hissed softly, borderline spitting at the red-eyed teen. "Ever since I saw you the first time in ninth grade. You were always helping out and trying to be some kind of fucking fourteen-year-old butler. Quiet as all fuck, but always ready to jump in just because. Just fucking…stop. You don't need to. Not for me and not for anyone else. I don't know what the fuck your parents taught you, but you're welcome to stay here as much as you want. You don't have to fucking  _do_  anything around here. Just be here."  _With me._  Stay  _here_. _Don't run. Don't hide. And don't leave me._

Yami flinched and turned away, staring at the ground for a long time. "I just…I was taught to make myself useful. I have to be busy or else I'm wasting time…" He raised his right thumbnail to his lips and his teeth gnawed at it even as he spoke around it. "I…Fuck. I don't know what I'm supposed to do…"

"You  _are_  doing something, Yami. You're here, with me"—the startled look in his eyes made Yugi want to flinch but at least now he was paying attention, was watching him whereas before Yugi had been worried that he was caught up in thoughts about his nightmares and that might have been one of the reasons he was so eager to wander around—"and you're going to be doing that all day, right? You're going to be  _looking after_  me, remember?"

Yami offered a small smile even as pain laced through his finger from where he had torn the nail-bed open and it was now bleeding into his mouth. "You are a full time job," he murmured thoughtfully, teasingly.

"And you are hired. You're more than qualified anyways," he stated. Because he was. Yami could handle him where others would break and freak and run for the hills. Yami took him at his worst, at his best, and everything in between and he was still there.

He hadn't run. Yugi was literally counting his blessings. Because Yami had not  _run_.

He hadn't taken off in the middle of the night. He hadn't tried to sneak out despite waking up before him. He hadn't gotten out of bed. He hadn't even opened his eyes until he knew that Yugi had, instead opting for laying there with his eyes closed, peeking an eye open hesitantly before looking at him hesitantly, a clear sign that he would leave if he wanted but he would also stay if he only asked, that he was willing to do whatever Yugi needed him to. He hadn't even moved from his position all night of having their limbs tangled beneath the sheets when Yugi grew even sadder and needed more physical connection. When he had woken up after he snuggled into him and they had locked eyes for that split second, Yami hadn't tried to push him away, instead complying to wrap his arms around him and pull him that much closer.

Yami gave him a small smile and pulled his finger away from his mouth, ignoring the way that the air stung it.

 _Okay, this is okay,_ Yugi thought with a small swallow, anxiety biting at the edge of his consciousness, painfully aware that all it took was moving too fast and the other teen might scatter. Or maybe it was just his imagination, his fear of being left behind, that fed this thought to him, because if Yami had not pushed him away in the middle of the night, had not run off when he woke first, had done nothing to disrupt the joining of their limbs, then he didn't think he would run now.  _This is good. He is here and he is not pulling away._

"I'll put you to work at once. First item on the agenda…" He thought it over for a moment and watched as those red eyes studied him pointedly. "A good morning kiss."

"That's fucking unprofessional," he sneered, wrinkling his nose indignantly before smirking at him wolfishly. "I would suck as your nanny."

Yugi burst out laughing, the noise bubbling into Yami's mouth as their lips moved against each other for a moment before he pulled away again, looking down at his bleeding thumb thoughtfully; the smaller boy followed his line of sight and watched the blood escaping what should have been a peachy-pink nail bed that was now almost black with the liquid beneath.

"We…need to talk, Yugi."

"Well, here I am," he said softly, feeling sick to his stomach; if Yami was going to leave him…no, he shook the idea out of his head. He wouldn't. He had to believe that Yami wouldn't because otherwise he would break and he couldn't afford to break. "I am all yours. Let's talk."

The blood was oddly mesmerizing and sickening.

"Oh gods, don't do that," he pleaded, distressed and feeling weak, his head spinning but his mind remaining focused on the sound of his desperate voice.

Yami looked up, confusion painting a mask over his features. "Do what?"

"I'm not stupid. I know what's going on right now, Yami. You're starting to do it all over again. You're starting to doubt it all. Me. You. You're wondering if you made the right decision staying here last night."  _Don't pull away from me…_

He wouldn't survive if he pulled away.

Yami stayed silent, studying him with dark bloody eyes, until finally, after a few long minutes, his mouth opened and his voice came out, cold in tone but mostly stressed out and tired with the sleepless nights his face spoke of. "This is complicated, Yugi. I have fucked up and I need time to think."

"So, what does that make me, Yami? Am I just some kind of stupid terrible mistake? You know something? I envy you."

"You envy me," he deadpanned, letting out a bark of dark humor. "Please explain to me the logic of that statement, Yugi, because I am drawing at a blank."

"You have the right to think this is complicated. You get the chance to see all of your actions, choices, options, consequences. You're looking at this as obligation versus self-preservation. For me, there really is no choice. There is only  _one_  option."  _And you're it…_

"That's bullshit and you know it," he spat. "You are the one who kept pushing me away, kept saying that this was only for fun, that the attachment was stupid, that I was an idiot to love you and now you're over here acting clingy, like I might just be your fucking lifeline."

Yugi blinked wide eyes and opened his mouth, growing angry.

"You had to know that I would  _try_. Did you really think the distance I put between us was  _just_  because of stupid little Rebecca?" he sneered, curling his lips back; a load of good that distance did, considering he came crawling back like an abused dog wanting its master's affections, sleeping with him all the time but avoiding anything even slightly related to emotions, a constant shield up at all times, his mind cautious in all respects when he thought of answers to continue a conversation with the other boy. And that date with the blonde girl was not so far around the corner now… "Put yourself in my fucking place, Yugi. What if  _you_ had to deal with all of these fuckers doing all of this bullshit to get your ass of a father back for something that had nothing to do with you in the first place  _while_  juggling some kind of convoluted bullshit love-hate relationship… _thing_?"

"And who says that I haven't had to deal with this crap too?" Yugi barked. "If you don't remember, I am part of this love-hate relationship  _thing_ as you put it. And I have had to deal with bullshit about how I'm the school slut and you saying that you love me too. Do you know how fucking messed up that is?"

 _And I'm just as fucking confused and lost as you are. You don't get the right to say that I'm not. Because if I wasn't, you sure as fuck would not_ be  _here._

"Oh, the inconvenience. You didn't get disowned for being gay or anything like that. I hardly think you could even possibly hold a flame to the shit I am going through."

"Maybe not, but it's just as hard having people throwing microphones in my face as it is for you, Yami. And fuck if my grandfather's health is not good enough to be put up in the same amount of stress that you've accumulated," Yugi sneered at him, glaring into red eyes that went from being narrowed to widening drastically in response.

"I…I…" Yami stammered before slowly shaking his head and looking away. "I'm sorry. I just…I'm stressed."

"I know."

And he could handle him being stressed.

Because Yami just needed to vent and Yugi would happily let him.

It was what they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday.


	21. Ransom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: There are mentions of pedophilia in the sixth part of the chapter.

Chapter XXI: Ransom

"…Have fun…on your date," the taller teen muttered softly, not looking up from where he was playing with a couple of Duel Monsters cards; Ra, Osiris and Obelisk kept appearing every single time and he was starting to worry the meaning behind it. The Puzzle glistened and shown when he leaned forward and he could swear as he touched Osiris it burned his fingers and allowed electricity to travel up his arm, killing the nerves beneath his skin for a split second before he could feel his blood pumping again.

He'd learned to read fates from Duel Monsters cards years ago when Bakura taught him how to do so and the problem was that Osiris was officially upwards, Ra was down, Obelisk was up, the Angel of Silence Doma was upwards, Red Eyes was down, and Silver Fang was up. Death, sunlight and power, strength, omen, control, and dangerous instincts.

And they were so completely flipped that it left him wanting to vomit.

Death, sunlight and power, strength, omen, control, and instinct.

Reading it as it was—as it had been every single time he tried to give himself a reading—meant that death was prominent as Osiris being upside predicted, Ra upside down meant that he would not have power over the situation to befall him, Obelisk upside said he would be given strength but that it was a double-edged sword with the placement of Doma and Red Eyes and especially Silver Fang, Doma upwards meant that his senses would fail him and something ill would befall him which only drew more importance from the cards surrounding it, Red Eyes facing downwards meant that he would have no control, and Silver Fang meant—as the wolf meant in animal totems—inner courage and wisdom, strength for when he was completely shaken, a deep connection with his instincts, danger and lack of trust, cunning and intelligence. Placed with those other five cards, it meant all of these qualities were going to be either utilized or pushed into his path, and if Yami really tried, he was pretty sure he could read for the most prominent aspect of the wolf's meaning, but for the moment he couldn't find the strength to do so.

Yami ground his teeth together and sorted them back into his deck as he had for the last three hours, once again shuffling violently and laying out the spread of six cards, flipping them each over and feeling a tremor run through him as the Puzzle burned against his abdomen.

Death, sunlight and power, strength, omen, control, and instinct.

Death in all its glory, a game of survival. Sunlight and power, the loss of familiarity or constants. Strength that would mean blood and sacrifice. Omen meaning the absolution of death and pain, sacrifice and blood, highlighting Osiris and Obelisk. Control being stripped away to push him into the grasp of his instincts. Trusting his instincts as a sure way of survival, absolute endurance that meant death to his threat.

He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep from shuddering and letting his fear gain control for the time being. He would have plenty of time to freak out later…perhaps when this…"omen" came to pass.

Yugi froze halfway to the door and looked over his shoulder at the boy who would be manning the shop for him for the next few hours before Seto came over and the two went to go work on finding the guy who was responsible for all the shit that was going on; the taller teen had his palms rested against the glass, leaning forward and rocking gently on the balls of his feet, clenching and unclenching his jaw while drumming his fingers against the counter. Was he worried about him on the date?

He knew it had been such a sore issue between them and there was no blame he could place on the other teen for that; if he were in his shoes, he would have lost it by now. He'd be a mess, trying to make Yami turn back to him and leave Rebecca behind and just trying in general to make him choose him over anyone else, jealous to the core and desperate out of his mind for all of his attention.

But after their initial argument, it had been over as far as discussion went. Yami didn't bring her up and Yugi was careful never to do so just in case the taller teen got shaken anymore than he already was. And with the way that he was just barely keeping himself strung together, mostly through fights with him about nothing and everything, ranging from jelly flavors to the bathroom floor being cold and hard to wishing they had never met in the first place, Yugi was too scared to take any chances.

But…why was he  _still_ playing his cards like that? What was the point of that?

"I…Yami…"

He wanted to say it. He wanted so badly to say it.

But he was so much more used to running and avoiding and pretending that it seemed almost impossible to him; red eyes watched him curiously beneath a cold layer of ice that was rapidly melting the more he looked at him before his attention flickered back towards the cards on the counter and he started to draw them back into his deck, dismissing his smaller look-alike as if he were not even there in the first place.

Yugi cringed but he knew that Yami definitely had a reason to feel like this. After all, he had given him false hope when he had said Yami was his that night, furthered by the way that he had said those three words without actually voicing them, and now he was revoking it by going out with the blonde. "My Yami…" How strange but wonderful that still sounded in his head even when his lips refused to give in to the urge to form the words.

"I'm sorry," he muttered instead.

A very loaded apology that held no comparison to Yami's statements of "I love you" which Yugi knew he had taken for granted, the words that he constantly tried to tear out of the red-eyed teen's throat each time they spoke.

Yami flipped his cards over again and stared, startled but not so visibly shaken that it drew and held Yugi's attention; Change of Heart upright, Happy Lover upright, Ra upright, Osiris and Obelisk downwards, and Silver Fang upright.

A small shiver ran through him.

Yugi was going to choose today. Which one he loved. Him or Rebecca and judging by the Happy Lover card, he had a sinking feeling it would be the blonde. Ra upright with those two meant that he would have many good days with her, Osiris and Obelisk downwards meant that it would last and he would give his all, only more pronounced by Silver Fang upright, as wolves were known for mating for life…

He clenched his jaw and tilted his head. Yugi and Rebecca would last. For a long time. Maybe so long that they would get married…

The sound of water, like a small babbling brook, caught his attention as it did Yami's who blinked and retrieved his phone from his pocket to look it over, wide-eyed before rolling his eyes towards the ceiling with a shake of his head.

"What?"

"He's being a fucking bitch," Yami spat, blinking once but not bothering with an apology; Yugi would have blown him off anyways, because he didn't really care for his apologies, especially not when he was justified to feel how he did. How often could one tease another with the possibility of a relationship before things teetered over the edge and shit happened?

"Oh."

"Look"—Yami started out strong, vicious and cold, but ended weakly, eyes glued to the cards on the counter—"just…go have fun with Rebecca."

Yugi had to admit that it was somewhat hilarious that Yami could say her name with a straight face and no menace or true emotion to his voice when her own nose turned up and her eyes rolled behind her glasses when she had to say his.

"And you're sure you'll be all right by yourself?" he asked softly, half hoping that Yami would say no and give him some kind of reason—no matter how weak—to remain there with him instead of going.

But Yami shook his head and started to scoop the cards back into his desk, clenching his jaw and tapping his nails in a strange rhythm against the glass, something like a battle tune that made his ears hurt for a moment. "As long as I don't get fucked up the ass by fate, yes," he muttered moodily, sighing and shaking his head again as he pushed his deck away and leaned against the counter with his elbows, looking at his phone now.

Yugi was about to laugh and say that he would fuck him up the ass anytime but then immediately made the decision not to; one look at him said that Yami had just thought of the same thing and he was  _far_ from amused by any means.

He held up his hands and the looked him over, frowning slightly at the way that he seemed to curl in on himself for a split second. "Text me when you leave, okay?" he mumbled, the words so soft that he almost didn't think Yami heard him.

That was different. Yugi had never said anything about that before. For a long moment Yami couldn't find it in himself to respond, maybe because he knew that Yugi would choose Rebecca or possibly just because he didn't know what to say, but managed a nod. "All right."

"I, uh…I guess I'll see you whenever then…"

How awkward a goodbye. Could you get more awkward than that? Yugi felt sick after the words left his mouth, tongue feeling bitter and a little swollen, weighted by the words and making his stomach twist violently. Oh, gods, he was such a fucking douche for letting the words out of his mouth in the first place. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"I mean—"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Yami snapped before pausing and sighing, giving him a weak, strained smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Seriously, have fun."

Yugi stared at him for a long minute. Because Yami…actually sounded like he wanted him to have a good time, to not feel awkward and strange because it was Rebecca and he should have been in her place. And he didn't sound the least bit jealous or anything like that.

He sounded a little weak. Maybe a little defeated.

But that could have been for a number of reasons.

And Yugi couldn't help but wonder what the fuck was going on with that.

"Okay…Thanks…"

Yami let out a soft hum but didn't bother to voice an answer, instead turning his attention back to his cousin; as soon as Yugi was gone, he set out another six cards, flipped them over, and felt himself break.

Change of Heart, Happy Lover, Ra, Osiris, Obelisk and Silver Fang.

The Puzzle grew hot but flared cold when he touched it and vaguely he wondered if maybe it somehow shared his pain.

* * *

"So…what exactly makes you two psychos?" Ryou finally asked, passing his paper over to Bakura who snorted in amusement and shook his head slowly, smirking and flipping his binder open.

"Well…let's see. I've pulled the fire alarm just to skip a test in sixth period. I've overridden the sprinkler system. I made a blackout in the school to skip gym. I soaked the cafeteria floors with corn syrup. They have no proof but I constantly put signs on the cars in the lot saying that they're for sale. I dropped candy bars into the school swimming pool. I melted caramel and splattered it all across the principal's walls. Hmm…I've blown up exactly"—he paused, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling for a second before smirking at him—"twenty chemistry labs from freshman year to now. I put sewer water in the instruments for band. I've started three foodfights just this year to add to my record of thirty four other ones. I caught a wasp on fire with spray paint and a match when it wouldn't leave me alone in art class. I draw naked women on my math tests. I curse so much that my teachers don't care anymore. I  _ate_ my biology midterm right in front of my teacher when she pissed me off. I drew gang and satanic symbols  _all_ over the principal's lawn and driveway with chalk and spray paint. I've  _officially_ been called a menace to society by my parents, my teachers, classmates, my cousins, and the police are so used to getting calls about me that they just don't give a fuck anymore. I put up pictures of my principal fucking a goat on the walls. I've…hmm…let's see…"

"At this rate, the better question would have been what the fuck he  _hasn't_ done," Marik muttered, shaking his head slightly.

"I can list that off too. I mean, if you want," Bakura sniped, rolling his eyes.

"Okay…so, uh…wow, let's just change the—"

"But you haven't even heard of what  _I've_ done yet!" Malik objected angrily.

"I…Okay, what have  _you_ done?"

"I've stuffed rotting cheese into the air vents, set off a mass amount of soda fountains with Bakura and Yami, set off cherry bombs all throughout the girls' bathrooms, I've actually rented a forklift and lifted my biology teacher's car out of the lot and thrown it, I've caught the gym on fire. I put soda in the sprinklers and set them off, I drew on my teacher's walls, vandalized the principal's car, broke into the vending machines and stole the money  _and_ the drinks I wanted. I video taped my teacher cheating with a student. I convinced the math teacher to let me fuck my girlfriend against his desk when I threatened him with that. I got my dad stoned on accident. I—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait…on  _accident_?" Marik cut in, furrowing his brows and swapping a look with Ryou as Bakura snorted laughingly and flipped through his assignment papers. "How the  _fuck_ do you get someone  _stoned_ on  _accident_?"

"How?" he snickered, nudging his silver-haired cousin who smirked in response and shook him off. "I got the stupid brownie for this moron over here but the ones that we bought from the café down the street over there were wrapped up the same way and he ate the regular ones while my dad got the drugged one and my mom had a heart attack trying to figure out what the fuck was going on when he ate Lucky Charms out of an ice cream carton saying it was the best invention since soda."

Marik fell over laughing and Ryou snickered, shaking his head as Malik smirked and Bakura nudged him with his elbow and the blond went about adding, "Then I've gone and stolen the principal's keys and crashed his car into the side of the gym building. I've put itch powder in the entire football team's uniforms before a big game. I've stolen weight equipment from the gym and put it in random places around the school. I took my ex's underwear and hung them up in the trophy case. I pissed in someone's locker when they made me mad. I might or might  _not_ have hired a couple of guys to break into class one time and attack the teacher with Nerf guns and scare her into giving us another week to study for our final exams…"

"Wow. You must really…hate this school," Ryou commented, furrowing his brows and wondering what exactly could make them dislike it so much; aside from this social hierarchy they had going on it seemed pretty easygoing for the most part. The teachers were pretty nice aside from Mrs. Chono and things weren't too hard to do around there, regardless of the advanced placement classes he was taking.

"What?" Bakura asked, blinking in confusion before swapping a look with his cousin. "We don't hate it. We just get bored."

* * *

Yugi met Rebecca at the restaurant, feeling disgustingly awkward the moment he even got within feet of the extravagant looking building. But, then again, he was only sixteen, didn't know how to drive, had no driving experience to speak of, and he didn't even  _have_ a car. Plus, his grandfather was seriously pretty convinced that if he walked around enough, he would somehow grow taller.

How that made sense, he had no idea, but the old man came to that conclusion somehow despite how nonsensical it was.

But then again, this was his grandpa he was talking about. Strange was a synonym for the old man.

Even Yugi knew that.

The outfit was itchy against his skin as he walked in, spotted her, and then quickly took a seat in front of her, somewhat surprised by the fact that her hair was down and she had curled it into ringlets, wearing an expensive-looking sea-green dress that made her eyes shine all the brighter. She was beautiful, he admitted that, but she was also fourteen and while he didn't really care about that either because couples between sixteen-year-olds and fourteen-year-olds happened a lot at his school as it was, he still failed to see her as more than his family friend.

He tilted his head to the side slightly, studying her slowly and taking every note he could of what was going on. Her body language said she was nervous but utterly excited and he was somewhat curious about the moment that she would start trembling in exuberance. Huh. Was that how you were supposed to feel when you went out with someone? He really kind of wanted that.

And it didn't take a genius to realize that he would never get that with her.

He knew that but it didn't keep him from trying to feel  _something_  of that as he watched her, their conversation so mild that it bordered pathetic, eyes on her as their food arrived and she took her first bite. And he watched her take a sip of her soda and then stare at him in confusion.

"Yugi?"

His name made him want to vomit. His stomach twisted with something he didn't quite recognize but he knew for a fact that this was a mistake and something was terribly, horribly,  _viciously_ wrong. With the sight before him. His eyes hurt just looking and his head was throbbing as if he had gotten hammered.

Or maybe the hangover would feel better than this painful sensation he was experiencing now.

Oh gods, she shouldn't be here. Rebecca shouldn't be here.

He shouldn't be here. Yugi shouldn't be here.

He almost felt like breaking down and sobbing on the floor with the harsh blow of that realization; he had thought it would just be a simple little thing, just him and Rebecca in a restaurant, on a date that was all about paying her back for her efforts with Yami's laptop, the two of them eating and him pretending that he liked her back because that was exactly what he had signed up for. But, oh how wrong he was.

His mind struggled in vain to try to find something to rein his franticness in with but with the spinning in the room that sent his thoughts everywhere in his head and the pain his chest that made him feel cold and weak, it was impossible to do so.

He put his fork down and stared at his cup with the focus of a predator stalking its prey, watching a bead of condensation and tracing its path a moment later with his fingertip, feeling his stomach twist with anxiety as his mind produced the image of Yami licking and kissing the tears on his cheeks.

"Yami loves me," Yugi breathed, anticipating the wave of emotions that never came. There was no panic or fear that stormed through him, replaced instead with an intense twist of pure, unfiltered guilt that tore at his insides and left him completely exposed and his fingers trembling. Rebecca watched him, eyes widening slightly as the blue-violet gaze flickered and gleamed, flashing as he repeated, "Yami  _loves_ me."

The blonde watched the way his eyebrows slowly drew together in confusion and thoughtful anxiety, his jaw working as he started to tear into his cheek violently; he looked confused, drowning in it, his eyes clouding as he tried to sort through whatever it was in his head.

"Yugi?"

Those blue-violet eyes she had always loved so much slowly flickered up to hers and Yugi sat back slightly in his seat, still looking confused and a little dazed with a hint of horror lingering somewhere beneath it all but making his voice tremble violently as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Rebecca. I know you've got to be angry with me…"

She was, a little bit, but mostly because she hated the fact that she really  _had_ already lost him without the chance to actually  _fight_ for him in the first place. Just as she had been afraid of.

"I'm not mad at you…" She paused, the words tasting foreign on her tongue; she'd never had a reason to say them before, she realized, a little shaken by the fact but growing a little more confident with it too. "I promise."

Yugi spared a small glance at his food, trying to collect himself and somehow managing to do so just enough to turn his attention back to her and tilt his head. "I know you're probably disappointed. Especially considering how I've  _handled_ this whole situation with you and Yami in the first place."

But he couldn't really find it in himself to care for her disappointment when his own made his heart heavy and his stomach feel like it was burning beneath his skin, searing and making him want to vomit.

She sighed and shook her head slowly, somewhat annoyed by the idea of having lost so easily without even really getting the chance, but when she thought about it, she couldn't find a single moment where Yugi had actually given her a reason to believe that they could ever get together in the first place. "It's none of my business," she stated softly, frowning as the words rang in Yugi's ears and made him stare at her for a second, obviously surprised. "I was just being a jealous bitch."

He offered a small laugh that was shaky around the edges. "Yes, you were, but that's why I love you, remember?"

She frowned as she stared into his eyes. "I'm sorry I've been like this, Yugi. I was thinking about it all and I thought about how impossible it was to even make you pay attention to me when we were younger, how reserved you were, and realized just how hard this must have really been for you." She idly jingled her bracelets, watching him. "Choosing between your heart and your head…"

Yugi didn't answer her, instead blinking once and turning his face away to glance at the others in the restaurant, feeling strange and sick with this conversation; most of the small teen wanted to go to Yami but another part of him just wanted to flee from it all because it was just so fucking  _hard_ …

"Yugi…look, whatever you decide to do—be with Yami, don't be with Yami—it's your decision, okay? Don't…think about what anyone else thinks….Even me."

The stiffness in her voice drew Yugi's attention back towards her, his eyes staring at a girl who seemed much older than she had been for the last couple of months. Even when they had been in the hospital, she did not look like this; her eyes had a fire he had never seen before and her stance spoke of determination that was directed towards him understanding what she was saying. It was pretty obvious, however, that she was embarrassed by the childish approach she'd taken when trying to gather his attention, and Yugi know for a fact that she had bore witness to that pained expression Yami had worn when they had looked at the footprints on his kitchen floor.

The image made him flinch.

She sighed softly, a deep ache filling her voice when she whispered, "You've chosen Yami, right?"

He bit his lip, but the smile caught the edge of his mouth as he shook his head ruefully, sighing softly and looking up at the ceiling. "I don't think I could ever love him the way he needs," he admitted quietly, swallowing hard as he dragged his eyes back to his cup and watching a bubble rise to the surface. "I don't know if I ever  _could_ love him. I don't think I know  _how_ …"

Rebecca shook her head and though her heart hurt, she found herself smiling a little. "That's not true. If you could see the way you look at him sometimes…" Her smile grew wider and her eyes brightened slightly. "I mean, I always caught you checking him out because you want him. But besides that, you look at him like…like you're  _fascinated_ by him. Yugi, you look at him like he's the only one there…"

He couldn't fight off the small blush that claimed his cheeks. "It caught me off guard, I guess. Feeling like this about Yami…is pretty much the  _last_ thing I ever expected to happen."

"That's how it always is."

"I just…" Yugi trailed off for a long moment and his lips twitched slightly as he stared at his lasagna remains and poked at them with a shake of his head. "I've been so terrified of having no choice. For the longest time, I didn't want to be in love with Yami so I convinced myself I wasn't. But I was so busy running away from him that I didn't notice I was getting trapped by myself into a life I didn't want. I was just numb…and I never noticed that was happening until it all felt too late."

The blonde looked away from him.

"I dreamed of Yami  _every single night_  and when I woke up I spent every hour erasing his existence. But I'm getting so tired of it and I don't think I  _want_ to deny it anymore. I'm in love with him."

Rebecca made a choking noise and her head whipped back towards him to find he was staring at her with a despaired expression, making her want to flee from the intensity. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, saying, "And he's yours. He's so completely at your feet, it just makes me want to cry."

Yugi turned away again to stare at the remains of his dinner and then looked up at the ceiling. "I have to be prepared for the fact that he might pull away from me. We don't exactly have the best history. I've never told you what it was like when we first started…having sex. Every time he woke up, he'd look so disgusted and make a run for—"

"You're in the past, Yugi. I don't think he'll run again." She searched his face, remembering the way that Yami would look at him as if he were the most special thing in existence and he just wanted to keep him completely safe no matter what. "We live in each day we're given. What do you want now?"

"I want…to be with him…Always."

"Then what are we still doing here?" she laughed, though her eyes were a little sad and yet bright with happiness for him. "Be brave, Yugi. Your life with him won't be easy, I can guarantee you that much. But it will be a life. You've woken up."

"He might run away from me. We're good at doing that to each other."

"He won't run and you don't have a reason to either."

"I don't know what I'm doing."

"But you'll know when you need to."

* * *

"So…what exactly are you doing in Japan, anyways?" Marik wondered as Ryou passed a pen over to Bakura who started to write in the answer that he had given him a second again; when the wider set of lighter brown eyes singled in on his he found himself blinking and backpedaling at the confused expression. "I mean, you're British and you're already most of the way through high school so I don't get why you're here when you could still be there. Plus you had to learn Japanese to get here and…Yeah, I just really don't get it. What's the point?"

Malik stopped short, curious now, and Bakura paused in his writing, tilting his head but not giving his attention to them, going back to his task but making it clear that he was listening as well.

The smaller albino let out a soft laugh. "Domino has one of the best medical schools in the entire world. And one of the world's leading surgeons is in the local hospital here. Besides, I've always wanted to come here anyways. School just gave me an excuse."

"So, wait, your parents dropped their lives back in Britain just to bring you here for schooling?" Bakura asked, incredulous as he stared at him; something about that story just sounded completely off and stupid and he didn't like having someone think they could pull the wool over his eyes.

Ryou fell silent for a second and then sighed. "Well, considering my mom is  _dead_ , I don't suppose she had much to object about," he muttered, rolling his eyes when Malik smacked the other teen upside the head and a little mystified but terribly grateful when Bakura merely narrowed his eyes and avoided apology altogether. "And my dad constantly travels anyways and because I'm an only child, he likes to spoil me and give me things I want. Hence, the reason I am in Japan and he is off to…well, that's disturbing…I seem to have forgotten where he went to this time…"

Now Bakura burst out laughing and Marik and Malik shot him a couple of glares while Ryou snickered and shrugged at their stunned expressions, enjoying the fact that the taller boy wasn't afraid to find the humor in the statement, no matter how dark it was. He could at least appreciate that in a friend.

It made things easier.

* * *

"This is it," Seto muttered.

Yami glanced at the crappy-looking building and frowned. There was no way. Absolutely none. The apartments looked like crap. They were built on a rather steep slope and had stupid wooden steps that were half-assed in design and led up to the doors where one was missing a handle while the other didn't even settle right like it was supposed to in order to be considered closed. There were trees with burrs on either side of the doors and it stood at only three stories high. There was a sewer head a few feet away to the left and beer cans scattered around along with cigarette butts all over the ground littering the rather flammable grass and pine needles and shed burrs. There were a bunch of trees off to the side that completely hid the third building all the way to the left and there were a few trees past that and Yami could just  _barely_ make out a strip of asphalt that meant there was a small parking lot in the back. The townhouses that they had passed looked just as shitty as the apartments themselves.

A fat boy ran around and then stared at them as they got out.

A small girl scooted on her scooter and flipped when she ran over a rather large stone, oddly too distracted by the two boys to even notice that she had scraped herself up.

"There is no fucking way," Yami breathed, shaking his head.

Seto tapped his GPS monitor and then looked at the IP address confirmation before pointing to the bottom left apartment of the building in front of them with the cigarette butts that littered the grass. "That's it."

"Fuck my life, there's no way."

"That's it, Yami. Come on."

The red-eyed teen shook his head, but followed him regardless, both of them going up the hill and then dodging clumps of dog shit hidden in the grass. What the fuck? Seto led the way over to the sliding glass doors, peering past the blinds, but the apartment was completely empty.

"You know how to pick a lock still?"

"Yeah, but…judging by the lock on that door, I won't be able to without a key."

"All right. We'll talk to the superintendent."

"Fuck that. I'll make use with something else," Yami announced, heading over to the windows; it was even worse because only the room on the far left had a screen to its window and the one he messed with squeaked terribly but gave way as he pulled it open. Seto followed him through, glaring at the bushes that pressed into his clothes and the leaves that shed themselves on him.

The red-eyed teen tipped his head up, blinking wide eyes to see a large ring of dark green mold growing on the ceiling before glancing around to take in the rest of the empty room. The air was stale and humid due to the mold and the water stains that he knew the green mass engrossed.

"Fucking hell. No wonder no one wants to live around here," the brunet said gruffly.

Yami snorted once and then headed into the master bedroom to find once again that it was empty, even checking the storage closet and the other bedroom to see that it was empty as well, checking the restroom where the tub was oozing something from the wall and water dripped from three places as the shower upstairs continued its course of relieving its owner of the dirt on their skin. He led the way into the kitchen and backtracked to the living room and finally spotted it, pointing wordlessly.

"That makes no fucking sense," Seto said, shaking his head and looking at the single modem in the wall. The single item in the entire apartment.

"You think maybe they hijacked someone else's internet feed and broke in here to send the shit to us?" Yami murmured thoughtfully in a soft voice, staring at the small black box and feeling the Puzzle burn through his clothing; he reached up, cupping it and stroking the center of the eye, trying to gather some kind of calmness to scatter the memory of the readings he had done earlier.

Vaguely his thoughts circulated for one brief second on Yugi and Rebecca, on the reading he had produced, and then his mind cleared completely and the Puzzle burned with a warmth that made him want to melt for a split second, so comfortable that it made his heart hurt for a moment.

"Fuckers are a lot smarter than I thought."

"Obviously it has to have been a while since someone has lived in this apartment, right?"

"No, I think someone lived here yesterday and moved out that fast," Seto deadpanned.

Yami gave him a sharp look. "I wanted to estimate how long it has been," he snapped. "But now that you mention it, I think they probably broke in through that same window and set this shit up in order to do all of this. Yesterday."

"You think that they did this yesterday?" the brunet asked, straightening and putting his things in his pockets, frowning as his youngest cousin stared at the modem thoughtfully.

"Have you noticed the way that girl stared at us? Almost as if she was in awe."

"So what? Little kids are excitable."

Yami shook his head slightly. "Excitable does not explain why they are out there on the street watching us this second nor does it give reason as to why they have not reported us," he responded, not even needing to go to the window and peek out to know that they were watching the sliding glass doors despite not being able to see them through the thick blinds. "It's almost like they knew we were coming."

"You think that this guy  _told_ them we were coming?"

Red eyes sharpened and flickered towards him. "I do."

"Why the fuck would he have done that, Atem? You're not making sense."

"Because if he told them to expect us, it gave them a reason not to report  _him_ when he broke in. Children are easily manipulated. Perhaps he told them that he lived here or something or that he was setting up something or other—a game, maybe. And that we were going to be his two friends to play."

A game…

A game of survival…

Death in all its glory…

"You're giving them too much credit."

"And you are giving them too little."

For a long minute neither of them spoke, both of them remembering the videos being leaked, the pictures, the fact that they had somehow convinced Duke and his father to work with them, the computer crashes, the emails, gathering the media as they had…

"You honestly think that he would have done this?"

"I think that if I was going to break into an apartment and knew that two others were going to follow suit soon enough, I would have done something to decrease suspicion and risk of exposure. I would have told the kids that it was a secret. That I was having friends over the next day. I would have humored them until they promised to keep my secret. And look at them. They are looking at us as if they  _know_ who we are and what we're doing." He paused, glancing at him. "And no offense, but little kids beneath the age of twelve don't even know you  _exist_ , Seto."

The brunet nodded. "And those kids are all around eight or nine aren't they?"

Yami mimicked him. "This was a setup but I don't understand the trap…"

The Puzzle burned against him as if laughing at his statement, the bold-faced lie making him almost smirk in amusement; his omen. That was what this was. And, talking about it, letting his mind circulate on it, only made it that much clearer to him.

The game was starting.

Now he just had to play his part and figure out his strategy because otherwise he knew he would be the one that wound up dead.

"I don't know, but we're going to have to be careful."

He nodded again. "I'll be back. I'm going to ask that little girl if she knows anything."

Seto gave him a small glance. "Be careful and don't do anything stupid."

"I make no promises."

"Atem."

Yami blinked and turned his head. "Cousin, have a little faith, will you? I will be careful, all right?" he murmured, shaking his head and then heading back out of the apartment through the window. The Puzzle was growing cold and for a second he contemplated the odds of being able to get inside of Seto's car and just sit there until the brunet came out again, his instincts screaming for him to turn away, that reading of cards flashing through his mind like the pounding of blood with each beat of his heart.

But he was tired of playing the coward and he refused to back away from this challenge. Not when the cards refused to change. If he didn't do as he needed to in order to win, he had a feeling that Osiris's prominence in his reading would take on a much wider range than just himself.

The little girl came running up as if summoned and he froze in place but was immediately wary and alert when she grabbed his hand and bounced up and down, saying, "You came to play! You came to play!"

"I did," he responded slowly, smoothly, offering a small smile that made her beam even more, brown eyes bright as they bore into his; the Puzzle burned, flashing between shots of fire and ice that tore through him like panic. "Can you tell me what the game is?"

"He said it was hide-and-seek."

"Who is he exactly?"

"I don't know. He wore a mask."

"A mask?" Yami repeated softly, furrowing his brows before blinking and shaking his head. He honestly didn't understand. Why would they wear a mask? Obviously to protect his identity but if he wanted the kids to think it was a game, why would he wear it in front of them as well? It would make sense to show his face to them so that it seemed like they were all in on the secret game.

"Yeah, a mask like a clown."

"A clown?"

A clown? Why a clown? Clowns scared children…

"A jester," the fat boy said in a strange voice that sounded thick and awkward due to his physique, frowning slightly when those red eyes met his, visibly unnerved by the flashing of violent shades of the color. "He had a mask like a jester."

"A jester…?"

Why a jester?

That made no sense.

Was it supposed to mean something?

Jesters were historical entertainment that was normally employed to please royal figures or nobility in medieval or Tudor times or sometimes just itinerant performers who delighted common folk at fairs and markets. Jesters in medieval times were thought to wear brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern and their modern counterparts commonly mimicked this costume. In medieval times they entertained with a wide variety of skills that ranged from songs to music to storytelling and acrobatics, juggling and even magic. Much of it was meant to be comical so they would commonly make contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences…

And then it clicked very slowly.

In Tarot, "The Fool" was a card of the Major Arkana.

Arkana…

He gave Yami his name without even trying to hide it.

Just as he had with the crash that had overcome his laptop.

But in Tarot, another character depicted as the jester was Death. In the Middle Ages, Death was often shown in a jester's clothing because the last laugh…was reserved for death as well as the fact that Death humbled everyone while jesters made fun of everyone regardless of standing…

He shook off that last thought. No, Yami refused to believe that. There was no way they were going to kill him. How would that benefit them?

But Osiris flashed through his mind, branded there in his forethoughts, leaving him feeling sickly but oddly strong all at once; Osiris was  _his_ god. Death was  _his_ god.

Arkana had a lot to learn if he planned to play with him.

The Puzzle flashed hot against his skin, burned his fingers when he touched the eye, flared through his senses like a new pulse, electricity and fire that curled in his lungs like the thick black smoke from his dreams.

Death was  _his_.  _Osiris_  was his.

"He's waiting for you," the girl said excitedly. "He said to bring you to him."

A smirk threatened to cross his face; so the game truly began.

He'd put an end to all of this. And he would  _enjoy_ it.

Because he was done with doing as Arkana and whoever the hell his accomplice was bid him to. He was done folding over and allowing this to happen. He was done being manipulated.

And it was going to be that much more fun to beat them at their own game.

He'd make them fall like a house of cards.

It was over for them.

He was done playing the pushover.

The King of Clubs, the conqueror…Osiris, the god of death…

"Did he?" he wondered out loud, blinking once as they nodded eagerly; the girl squeezed his hand and he thought vaguely to turn back around and speak to Seto because he knew that it was probably smarter than just going with them, but then the girl and the chubby boy pulled on his arm and led him along.

Instinct told him to pull away and go back to his cousin but pride tore away his reason and his own hatred and need to protect himself centered inside of him, surged through him like fire, curled into his lungs again and spread through his veins like heated blood. This game was going to be over.

When they got back there, both children ran off and Yami cast a glance around slowly; the Puzzle flashed again, heat like lava, froze over like ice, grew weighted and heavy and then light and almost completely unnoticeable once more. He was here.

Trees in front with a few rocks, a rock garden amongst straw, a few cars off to the side—and there he was. Yami saw him without effort, almost as if his senses were all tuned to catch the other, eyes burning with fire as they tracked the movement of his feet as he walked around the car only a spot away from him, not once looking away, totally prepared for it when the man suddenly sprang and leaped at him from behind the vehicle.

The red-eyed teen hit the ground on his back but kicked him off easily and sprang to his feet in one fluid motion, the Puzzle feeling hot once more, burning at the fabric of his shirt and leaving a fire lapping at his skin.

And then he really stared.

Because…what the actual fuck…was  _this_ …?

The man really  _was_ dressed as a jester.

Yami furrowed his brows in confusion.

What the  _fuck_?

A fuchsia-maroon hybrid of a color made up his straight-shouldered jacket to a suit that had a striped undershirt and a bowtie both consisting of white and blue that made up his mask as well.

"Ha, you're a fucking clown!" he crowed, laughing in delight.

But why did that color seem to set something off in the back of his head?

Something stirred in the darkest corner of his mind but he could not focus on it.

An instinct told him that the color meant something but still his mind could not come up with the answer.

Arkana shot a hard cross his to right cheekbone, making him stumble slightly before he righted himself and threw out a kick that should have shattered his knee, but it hardly seemed to slow him down and Yami hurried to back up before he could retaliate. Arkana threw a punch that he ducked to evade, attempting a kick to throw him off his feet again, but he anticipated it and dodged to the right, away from his leg. He bounced back on the balls of his feet and raised his hands up warily in front of his face.

He came at the teen again and his head whipped to the side with the blow to his cheek but held his ground, kicking him hard against his side just beneath his ribcage and then following it up with one upside the face.

If he could just hit him in the temple or the neck, put his body weight into it, he could knock him unconscious and keep him sluggish long enough to get Seto out there and then they could put him somewhere, get answers…but if things kept going as they were he was actually scared he might go a little overboard and kill him because he was honestly starting to piss him off.

He stumbled but got to his feet fast and lunged which was countered when Yami dodged the punch he threw in order to roll to the side and kick himself to his feet again.

And then the answer came.

Like a small wisp of fog that cooled his mind and left his thoughts growing sluggish and weak, to the point that everything seemed to slow around him like some kind of bad action movie.

He dodged the punch to his left but let the one from his right hit, his temple taking the blow but the Puzzle burning harshly enough to keep him completely conscious. But he didn't care enough to actually focus on that.

Arkana had pulled something out of his pocket as he grabbed him by his jacket's lapel and pulled him forward, his body at first resisting but his mind giving him the ruse of sluggishness to follow, stumbling forward. The end of the tazer pressed into his neck and every single nerve ending along his pulse splintered with pain and sent sparks of alarm down his spine.

But the alarm died almost instantly, as did the sensation of being awake.

Blackness swam up out of nowhere—or at least he thought it was from nowhere—and he couldn't fight it off as he fell to his back and remained that way, an unconscious heap of limbs with the Puzzle flaring, the last sensation of feeling in his body.

* * *

"And you're sure he's your father?"

"Paternity tests, remember?"

"Yeah, but you don't think he could have just  _paid_ the doctors off?"

"Oh yes, of course he could have. But I actually had a DNA test done a couple of weeks ago. I was hoping that I would find out that I had other parents and I could humiliate him with that but not so much."

"Really? Damn."

"Yeah, they're really my parents."

"So…are they really related to the pharaoh or is it just…designer baby?"

"One of them is truly related to the pharaoh. Though I don't know which of them it is."

"Wouldn't that be a mind fuck if it was your mom? I mean, with the way your dad parades around like he's god-sent…"

"My father can kiss my little flat ass. Damn him to hell. I don't give two shits about him anyways."

"Well, I wouldn't say  _flat_ …But it's not the most—"

"Goddamn it, Yugi."

"Okay, okay, calm down. Sheesh. I try to give you a small compliment and you want to tear my fucking head off. Gods, this is why no one wants to date you."

"Right. Because it's not like I've been hooking up with you or anything."

"Point taken. Ahem, back to the subject. So then  _why_  do the DNA test?"

"Because I plan to fuck him up."

"…Okay then. That's…very nice."

"No shit, I thought it was the most amazing thing ever."

"Someone's a little full of himself."

"I might just be."

"So…Atem wasn't gay, huh?"

"No. But I'm sure he experimented…They all did…if you trust everything that you read and hear about in books or online. But you can't really be sure. The scientists and historians didn't live back then and I don't think they knew everything about them—or nearly as much as they pretend."

"Ooh, I've been fucking a skeptic."

"Mmhmm. Always the skeptic."

"Well…that's probably a good thing though, right?"

"Why?"

"Helps you keep a clear mind about all of the things that have been going on. The things that will happen."

"…Sometimes I wish that my mind wasn't so clear…"

* * *

"Yami-boy."

His head lolled when he breathed in a certain smell like warmed concrete that burned against stale air, the stench of something almost dead making his skin crawl as consciousness began to pull at his mind and his and Yugi's discussion slowly began to fade away into nothingness. His body felt odd, not weak, but as if something was weighing him down and the thought almost made him laugh out loud.

The Puzzle felt cold through his clothing as he breathed in a deep breath and opened his eyes into tiny slits of red irises that held drastically dilated black pupils and strained pink in the whites of his gaze. For a moment he could see nothing but small spots and something like black clouds that were morphing and seeming to melt into pinpricks before disappearing altogether.

His long lashes cut off his vision but there was nothing that hurt outside of the throbbing mess of a furious burning sensation in his neck that left him feeling winded as he drew in a deep breath.

Slowly he managed to make his neck, stiff with the weight of his head which currently held his chin against his chest uncomfortably, crane slightly just enough to wake the muscles of his jaw which just barely allowed him to raise his head to help in his quest of pulling together some information of his surroundings.

Salt water. He could smell…salt water.

He forced his eyes to open fully, to see the past the shadows cast by their lashes, his pupils dilating further and burning with the force of the light that was shined into them immediately. The light brought immense pain into his temple where fireworks seemed to explode and ricochet in his frontal lobe.

The light came to his left eye and evoked a growl of irritation that made his throat hurt from disuse, his breathing picking up from the double assault of pain. When a hand reached out, he lunged purely out of instinct, baring his teeth and chomping his jaws in the space they had just been.

The Puzzle was slowly starting to warm against his torso, whether from the anger it fed from him or his own body heat, he was unsure, but it was beginning to grow in temperature and it was both oddly alarming but wholly comforting.

"Well, at least we know he's alive."

Red eyes flickered and drew in the jester-like figure of Arkana who stared back at him with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his face. At first glance he had the impulse to burst out laughing at the sight before him, his eyes dancing as he took him in, infuriating the older male immensely as he stared back at him angrily. Half of his mask was torn up, his lip was busted and scabbed, he had bruises all over, and it was beyond liberating to see just how much damage he had done in such a short time. But the thought of laughing at that simply hurt his head which made him cut the idea off before it even really formed in his mind.

No, his head would explode if he did anything stupid like laughing.

His eyes very slowly changed focus to stare at the other man.

What the fuck was with all of those goddamned colors? Was fuchsia their favorite or something?

No, that wasn't fuchsia.

It was wine red…

His head tilted slowly as his eyes flickered from classy black dress shoes upwards and slowly to draw in the taller build of someone who looked much too lanky and scrawny to be a true threat towards him. Long gray-silver hair covered his left eye and Yami stared in confusion as his head slowly wrapped around the fact that that brown eye he was given view of…

"Pegasus," he hissed, a sound of mostly uncomfortable pain from the ragged burn of his throat than anything else, his Millennium Item gleaming and flashing, hot like fire and then chilled like a chunk of golden ice. For a moment the man didn't speak, his visible eye widening in surprise before a smirk graced his lips.

"So you  _do_ remember me, Yami-boy."

The boy tipped his head up slightly to study both of them slowly, drawing in all the notes he could make in his slightly dazed state which he knew was growing rapidly more coherent and alarmed.

And that answered the question of what big corporation had been the one to control the internet; Maximillion Pegasus, the owner of Industrial Illusions, the maker of Duel Monsters.

Now the question was why exactly he was the one going up against his father. What  _money_ did he owe him? The two of them had never been in business together; in fact, if he remembered correctly, he wasn't even in business with Seto either for one reason or another…

He hated to think of the reason that popped into his head immediately, his stomach twisting at the very thought and making him feel sick; oh gods, no.

"I do," he agreed simply, calmly, cutting away at both of their relaxed physiques to make Pegasus narrow his eye slightly while Arkana snorted in disgust and curled his lip slightly in distaste. The other man had to wonder just how many children "remembered" Pegasus, but a small bit of laughter bubbled out of his mouth at the idea that Yami had been one of them. "That business meeting with my father…"

His stomach twisted again. Oh yes, he remembered the stare of two amber-brown eyes that peered straight into his the entire time he sat beside his father, in between him and his mother. The way he had squirmed and gotten hissed at by his father, the way that Pegasus had refused to even once take his eyes off him. It was like some kind of sickening obsession that Yami had no name for that day.

Now he knew exactly what it was and if Pegasus thought for a  _second_ that he would get that from him now, he'd kill him first.

"You look rather well."

"What is this about? Why am I here?" he bit out, his voice coming out strained but steady all at once, his head exploding from the noise of it as it echoed around them, his neck aching violently with the movement of drawing more attention towards the stupid bastards. "Where…? I don't…My head…"

"It's nothing against you, Yami-boy—or would you rather I call you Atem?"

When he didn't continue he narrowed his eyes into slits and shook his head slowly. "Yami is fine. I've been Yami for two years now."

Pegasus nodded, looking delighted though Yami didn't really understand why. "Well, Yami-boy"—his head pounded with annoyance at the sound of his own name passing through the man's lips in that lilted drawl he knew was American though his Japanese was rather flawless—"as I was saying, it is absolutely nothing against you. My vendetta is against your father."

He already knew this.

"What did you do, Arkana? Why did he fire you?" He glanced at Pegasus, raising an eyebrow and tipping his head to the side despite the pain. "How did you get wrapped up in all of this?"

"One question at a time, Yami-boy," the gray-silver-haired man admonished with a teasing undertone; he saw red for a moment but the accompanying anger was nonexistent which told him it was probably from the pain in his head and neck rather than anything else. "Now, what is your first? You must have a bunch."

Was this some kind of sick game?

Yami bit back the sharp response and instead shakily cleared his scorched throat. "What is this all about?" he asked, licking his lips to wet them and then feeling his hands clench as he saw the darkened flash of lust that lit that strange brown eye.  _Son of a bitch…_

"Your mother is a goddamned slut," Arkana barked.

Yami couldn't help it when he threw his head back and laughed, his lungs straining with the sensation after being unconscious for so long, his torso jumping with the force of the sounds, his Puzzle seeming to throb with energy, pulsing with something like his heartbeat as it rose up and down with each exhale.

"Now, now," Pegasus interrupted, though the smirk was evident in his voice. "Let's not pick at our guest of honor's heritage. After all, it's pretty obvious where his little bedding skills come from, yes?"

Arkana sneered out chuckles that made Yami's skin crawl but Yami merely laughed and snorted, rolling his neck so that his head settled some to press his chin into the groove of his left shoulder.

"Yeah, the very open closet nymphomaniac," he said with a wide, dry smirk as his eyes closed and his head tipped slightly to the side. His fingers felt odd and stiff and it hardly took a genius to realize that they had tied the rope biting into the flesh of his wrists too tightly and now the circulation was coming out cut because of the way he had not moved his hands moments ago. "We spread our legs like an obese person eats fast food."

He didn't really have to open his eyes to know that Pegasus had a hint of a smirk and his eyes were insanely dark while his partner in crime looked utterly disgusted. He breathed out a laugh that was nearly soundless in the strange staleness of the air around them; he planned to win this game, no matter the digs he had to take and make, no matter the amount of time he had to bide or the threats he knew he would have to test in order to gain knowledge of. He twisted his thumbs up, coaxed at the rope with his nail, not really doing much but letting his nail create a small gap that was just enough to allow his wrists more room to breathe.

"Hmm…tell me, Pegasus," he muttered, raising his head with a wide smirk that made his eyes darken unnaturally. "Did you get off on me and Yugi fucking?"

Arkana, obviously fed up with the topic of discussion, smacked him so that his head flew to the side, pain erupting in his right temple from the impact and making his blood boil with directionless anger.

"Now, back to your question," he snapped, giving Pegasus an annoyed look that the other man rolled his eye at before crossing his arms.

"My wife, Cecelia—beautiful name, isn't it?—is sick and I need the money that your father rightfully owes me."

"Owes you?" Yami repeated softly. "And that means what exactly, Pegasus?"

"I have supported and funded his campaign for  _years_  and yet he never once has made this entire event worth my  _wild_. He spat in my face when I asked for some money to help with my poor, poor wife's health," he growled, that teasing lilt completely gone and replaced with an undertone of menace.

Yami almost snapped at him that maybe if he hadn't fucking touched him provocatively in front of his father two years ago he might have gotten that raise he needed. But his mind almost shut down with the memory. Pegasus had cornered him when he was going to his room after studies. His father was walking up behind him to speak to him about his chores but the gray-silver-haired man instead stroked up his spine from his lower back to his shoulders and Yami had jumped, knocking into the vase on the side-table and breaking the damn thing. This would not have been a problem—the  _touching_ would have been completely disregarded as far as Yami was concerned; he had no proof so even if he  _had_ told his parents they would never believe him—but he made the fatal mistake of not making sure his father was not around before doing such a thing. Hell, Pegasus could have raped him up against the wall and Yami would never have said anything because there would be no proof, but his father was right there. And as far as Yami was really concerned, it was possible his father blamed his "contamination" on the brown-eyed American in front of him.

No, if Pegasus had been careful, if he had not been so stupid, if his father had not seen, perhaps he would have gotten his way with him  _and_ he would have that money for his wife.

"You're holding me for ransom," he deduced, unimpressed. Obviously he had attempted first to sleep with his mother, as his father's statement of "I would not allow him near a bitch should he ask it" or something along those lines—he was a little fuzzy and he didn't truly  _care_ enough to be exact in remembering that comment—implied. Oh, great, so his father had probably walked in on his attempt to make his mother sleep with him and Pegasus had gotten his ass kicked around for being so ignorant and now, of course, he had gone after the only one in the family who was by far more important to the media than either of his parents.

Atem Sennen.

The sixteen-year-old wonder who had turned into the exact replica of his ancestor the pharaoh Atem.

Just great.

Yami nearly laughed at the thought and shook his head; Cecelia was Pegasus's weak spot, the one that he would have to use later.

Silver Fang flashed through his mind for a second and then, unbidden, Osiris followed, the two of the burning in his forethoughts as the Puzzle took up the blaze and burned into his abdomen.

"Smart boy."

"But you've overestimated my importance. My father doesn't care for me anymore. You know this yourself. You  _have_ been spying on me all this time. You have the videos…"

But this was where he questioned the logic of this plan. Why did he think this idea of ransom would work in the first place?

Did Pegasus know of a way to bring his father running? Perhaps he thought that using Yami as a threat to his campaign once more would work…?

He nearly laughed at the mockery of that thought.

Nothing would make his father come running to his rescue.

Nothing.

"Why did he fire you, Arkana?"

"He caught me stealing money from the company."

Yami barked out a laugh, a sharp noise underlined with triumph. He was surrounded by fucking idiots. This game was going to be that much easier.

He didn't miss the way that Arkana smirked slightly, the left side of his mouth curving up in pure amusement. But he was just as stupid as Pegasus. They were both so stupid…

He needed only find Arkana's weak spot. And test at his boundaries, push and pull and figure out what the hell he could do to win; he couldn't underestimate them entirely. That was the way people got killed. But his mind begged him to despite the way that his instincts screamed to pay attention and keep constant alert.

And it didn't take a genius to know that they were not the only two involved. No, there had to be more. A bunch more.

Now it was only a question of who, how many, what weapons they had to keep him contained, their schedules and patterns of keeping watch over him and how soon he could sink his teeth into them without making it obvious the threat he posed or giving away his position altogether.

"Your father may have disowned you, Yami, but it is far from wrong to say that he won't come for his only son. Remember, you have something of  _extreme_ value resting around your neck."

"The Puzzle would be a better object for ransom," Yami muttered, rolling his eyes and feeling it burn against his stomach, pulsing for a second before growing cold again; vaguely he had a moment of remembrance, an arrow pulled taut and quivering, a target across a lake of still beautiful glistening water, a mumble of "Fucking demon" that he shouldn't have heard, the flash of the Puzzle…

His jaw clenched, struggling to clear that memory out of his head, frustrated with the idea of it all, forcing away his train of thought and chewing his cheek to keep from letting his hatred show to the other two. If he did, he would lose…

Osiris…

King of Clubs…

Death…

Victory…

"That's where you are wrong. Your father may be a fool, but even he would not give over the one thing of significance for just  _nothing_. No, the Millennium Puzzle may be worth a fortune, but you're worth more," Pegasus argued so that Yami curled his lips back and bared his teeth in a soundless snarl of pure rage when the man looked him up and down and smirked slightly in amusement. He obviously disregarded his discomfort, smirking wider. "No, you look like your ancestor and you bear the Puzzle  _as well_. That makes you worth almost three times as much as that little artifact. Besides, how illegal would it be to sell that? All of Egypt would be at my heels for it."

"I'm pretty sure ransom is a more serious charge."

"You would be surprised by how little human lives actually matter."

Yami laughed once and shook his head. "No, I wouldn't."

Especially not his.

* * *

"Yugi."

The small boy spun around at the bark of his name, eyes widening drastically as Seto Kaiba approached him; Rebecca stood off to his side, tilting her head in confusion at the rapidly advancing CEO.

"I need you to come with me."

He felt his stomach twist. "Why?"

"Yami decided to play Sherlock and got his ass captured."

"Sherlock normally did get in a lot of trouble," Rebecca muttered, though she blushed when both of them shot her strange looks before Yugi snapped his eyes back to the brunet with a startled expression, his words sinking in.

Panic made his spine go completely straight, his lungs strained as his mind swirled with possibilities. And then he shut his mind down for a second, though he was unable to quell the weak whisper that passed through his lips the split second before.

"Oh gods…"

Seto watched him closely and Yugi almost felt as if he were looking for a weakness, some kind of chink in his armor, and he almost screamed that there were a million if he looked hard enough, but forced it back down. He needed to stay calm. He needed to not freak out…

"A-any idea w-where…?"

Well…at least he tried.

The sharp blue eyes narrowed into slits and regarded him coldly, not the least bit amused by the crack that fissured his voice. "No," he stated crisply.

"I…How…?"

"He wandered off on his own like the fucking dumbass he is."

Yugi felt a tremor of anger pass through him but the rage died in his bones and turned into some kind of distinct unnerved numbness that bit at his subconscious and made his senses slowly shut down one by one.

"So he could be…?"

"He's not fucking dead, you moron," Seto spat and Yugi's head whipped up at the statement, logic slowly making itself known in the back of his mind, his frazzled state of thought coming to the same conclusion; no, whoever it was that was fucking with them, they needed Yami to be able to play this game. Yami was the king in this situation, like some kind of chess game. The rest of them were all brooks in comparison. They surrounded the king. Now they had to find a way to make their way through their defenses to get him back…

"So what do we do?"

"Obviously we have to find some fucking way to get to him," the brunet growled, oddly unnerved by the determination that made Yugi's eyes shine against the darkness of the coming of the late sunset. "Come on. We have to get to Kaiba Corp. so that we can try to track him or something."

"I have a phone app—"

The brunet dug through his pockets and then held out the slender white device, dropping it into Yugi's hands carelessly; when he turned it on, the screen came up with a picture of Yami unconscious and laying in the grass, bleeding from a wound on the side of his head, spread-eagled on the ground to show off the state of his being.

"Oh god…"

"He won't help us, you idiot. Now come on."

* * *

Yami stared at a camera lens with a bored expression, too tired to care that they were documenting him now. Arkana and Pegasus had already said their piece which consisted of his father having three days in which on the fourth, at three a.m., if he was not there, Yami was dead.

He had barely restrained himself from laughing at their statement because that  _honestly_ had to be one of the  _funniest_ things he had heard in his entire  _life_. His father was not going to come and if he did…

No, Yami refused to think of the if.

He was not coming.

Yami would not  _need_ him to come.

He could handle a bunch of fucking idiots.

* * *

First Rebecca tried, being the little computer geek that she was. She had hacked halfway and then the server had said it was unable to go any further. She tried to override it at least twenty times but each time it came up with a dancing bunny that said something along the lines of "What's the magic word?" or "Nice try, Kaiba" which had only made the brunet even more furious.

His own firewall, as intelligent as it was, had not been able to break past it when he tried next. He overrode and overrode and overrode some more but each time a new image of that bunny appeared.

Yugi, lacking the most in actual computer hacking, but knowing how to from movies and his own altering of his friends' report cards—ha,  _friends_ , the irony—tried last. Of course he didn't get very far though he did manage to get past the stupid bunnies using satellite instead, but the IP address was false and did not work for shit so despite all of the efforts, it did not work at all.

He collapsed back against the black leather chair, biting his lip to keep from crying. Blood spilled into his mouth with the force of his bite, but the metallic taste and the sting of his open skin was welcomed by far compared to the present numbness that exhausted his features momentarily.

Rebecca and Seto both glanced at him just as his nervous breakdown began. His eyes dilated and became completely unfocused. His body went limp but remained upright due to the chair, and his fingers started trembling against his knees.

If they couldn't find Yami, who was say that he  _wouldn't_ be killed? Because he could honestly not see Yami cooperating with them and if he didn't cooperate, then what was going to keep them from killing him? Yes, he was the bargaining chip, but if the bargaining chip outstayed its welcome…?

Yami had honestly impacted his life much more than he wanted to admit and it was beyond terrifying to actually think about what would happen if the red-eyed boy was killed. What was he going to do after that anyways?

How cruel could life be if Yami was to die before he even got to  _admit_ to loving him back? His stomach twisted with the thought and his heart hurt in his chest as his lungs constricted harder.

Yeah, if he was killed before then, Yugi swore he would never get close to anyone else  _ever_ again. Purely for the fact that this pain in his system was killing him slowly from the inside out and he could not take it a second time in life.

His head continued slowly shutting down, each thought bleeding into the other until the words were no longer coherent and his trembling fingers came to a still against his kneecaps where they went limp along with the rest of the muscles in his body.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday  
> On a side note, I don't play chess and I'm pretty sure I messed up that analogy but either way, I tried, so…yeah…just, take pity on me xD


	22. The Puzzle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Abuse, some Season 0 Yami, moments of slight insanity, and a little bit of history on the Puzzle and Yami and a little bit of the Puzzle's magic is expanded on.

Chapter XXII: The Puzzle

Yugi was still frozen in place, fingers twitching against his knees and eyes a shallow dark sapphire blue around the edges, a dull dark purple lingering on the outsides and mixing blindly together, pupils dilated to almost mere pinpricks of black. Rebecca glanced at him, flinched, turned back to the infuriating brunet who narrowed his eyes and continued typing into the computer, realizing belatedly that he was breaking through the ambassador's firewall to hack his company and go through his emails, downloading and translating all of them immediately without so much as a blink, clicking on the most recent that was addressed to him by someone named Maximillion Pegasus.

Rebecca furrowed her brows and glanced at Yugi, about to ask if he was the one who had created Duel Monsters but turning away immediately again; she wasn't about to ask Seto because she was pretty sure he was liable to just grab the pen on the desk and stab her a few times with it.

The video…was live. He realized this the moment he clicked the link, the screen going black for a split second before focusing on his restrained cousin who had his head tipped back and was staring at the ceiling with an exasperatedly bored look, his voice rough and almost groggy when he started complaining about the air quality. His comment brought about laughter in the background but made Yami lower his jaw again, shifting his attention to someone outside of the camera's sights, raising an eyebrow at something they said. When he rolled his eyes and tipped his head to the side, lowering his eyelids halfway and tucking his chin into his left shoulder, it was becoming obvious that he was about to lose his shit.

"Say something to your dear daddy," someone sneered.

"He is  _not_ going to come," he sighed, exasperated and shaking his head with another roll of his eyes.

"He will. Or else he can kiss his son goodbye."

"Fucking Ra…Then  _do_ it!" he spat, raising his head and glaring, eyes narrowed and lip curling back. "I'm getting  _real_ fucking tired of your shit, Pegasus. I've been here for what…? Three fucking hours with your lame asses and he still hasn't responded, now has he? He's rather good at answering email fast—pretty much his only good quality. You can email him and he'll get back to you in about two minutes.  _Obviously_ I do not hail very  _high_ on his list of priorities. So if you could just get this over with, that might be good. Three fucking hours. It means he doesn't give a single flying  _fuck_ , got it?"

"Three  _hours_ ," a new voice sneered, sounding almost gleeful with Yami's frustration. "Ooh,  _so_ much time."

"Fuck you, Arkana! I hope you have fun when Pegasus shoves his dick up your ass!" Yami barked viciously, not making a noise when a fist slammed into his cheek and a hand grabbed at his hair roughly, jerking him slightly. "What? Mad that I know the truth, Arkana? You should know that all the money in the world won't bring your little bitch of an ex back to you. She's a gold digging slut who ran off with the first piece of trash with money after your little accident."

"Don't touch him. He's fucking with you right now."

Yami's face turned up into a wide smirk, lips parting just enough to show off his canines as he stared at the person, something that made Seto's eyes widen drastically and his jaw clench. That was normally the look he got when he knew something he wasn't supposed to, when he started planning and fucking with someone's head to the point that they couldn't think straight anymore.

The camera's angle shifted and gave him a view of the man who had stuck out, a tall somewhat lanky-looking person dressed in a fuchsia suit with stripes of blue and white on his undershirt and the massive bowtie in the front ad his face was covered by a half-destroyed masquerade mask like that of what a jester would wear upon performing. His face was littered with wounds that his cousin had definitely inflicted and something that looked like burn marks.

Yami had mentioned an accident…

Either way, Seto couldn't help it when he started smirking. Damn, Yami hit him  _hard_.

Yugi went ramrod straight and then leaned forward, eyes wide as he stared at the screen in momentary confusion; was he hallucinating now?

"I wonder, Pegasus," Yami drawled softly, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips and his eyes flashing with pure dark amusement that chilled his cousin when it was directed towards the camera. "If your wife would still love you if she was aware of how much of a pedophile you are. You know, I think if you got her that little cure or whatever you're trying to get this money for and she  _ever_ found out about your disgusting little secret, she would knock you out on your ass."

Arkana burst out laughing.

"Shut the fuck up."

"He's fucking with you," the man in the jester-like suit sneered in response.

Yami smirked a little wider and leaned his head forward, pulling his lips back to show off almost all of his top teeth in a curl of his mouth that made Yugi's blood freeze. "I know that if  _my_ spouse was more interested in fucking  _little kids_ , I would kill them—"

"Shut the fuck up!"

"You seem to be on repeat," the red-eyed teen growled with a chuckle underlining his tone. "'Shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up'. Cute that you think I'll listen."

For a moment there was silence and then Yami spat a disdainful, "Oh put the fucking gun away, you pathetic imbecile." His eyes rolled and he looked around with a bored expression. "You said it yourself. I am worth more than anything else in this room—including my Puzzle. You would be wise to mind that. Don't want to make any  _mistakes_ , would we, pet?"

"I swear I'll kill you before the deadline—"

" _Do it_!" Yami laughed gleefully, throwing his head back and laughing louder so that the noise bounced off the walls and boomed through the stale air, snapping his attention back to him abruptly and spitting in his direction with blazing eyes. "Do it! I fucking  _dare_ you! You won't do  _shit_ because you're a goddamned wimp. You're like a fucking bitch that got off its leash and now thinks it can bite the hand that feeds it! You kill me, Pegasus, and you have  _nothing_. You'll never even get this Puzzle off my dead carcass, that's how  _bound_ it is to me! But that doesn't mean that if I get the chance I won't show you your fucking place, pet. Bitches belong on  _leashes_. And their masters belong on the other end. I'll show you your place when you're on your knees  _begging_ me not to fucking  _kill_ you."

Yugi blinked in shock and Seto raised a single eyebrow; apparently the air quality had to be fucking with Yami's head because he was  _clearly_ in no position to threaten them.

"Oh god…" Yugi breathed, leaning forward and blinking again. "He's…okay…"

"For now," the brunet agreed roughly, a bite to his sharp words that he was drastically aware of but did not turn his head to challenge. "But that's going to change pretty fast if he doesn't stop fucking around with them like this. Ransom victims are not normally treated the best. Technically, they just have to keep him alive. There's nothing said about the _condition_ of the bargaining item."

The small boy looked like he wanted to throw up, skin growing ashen in color and eyes starting to lose focus for a split second. "I can't…I can't do this…"

"Snap out of it," he spat, spinning on him and slamming his fist into the desk with the movement, just enough to spur Yugi into giving him a glazed over, panicked look. "You are so fucking weak and spineless, just like I fucking told Yami. But does he ever fucking listen? No, of course not. He  _never_ listens. I don't know what the hell he sees in you, but obviously he's retarded for even wanting someone as pathetic as you!"

He blinked wide eyes, recoiling.

Rebecca opened her mouth to argue but then shut it again, realizing that maybe this was what Yugi needed for the moment.

"You would assume someone in  _your_ position would fight for the person who they  _know_ loves them  _so fucking much_ , but you're just letting him go, aren't you, Yugi?" Seto shook his head. "He's my cousin and it's pretty fucking obvious that I'm fighting  _far_ harder than you are. I'm not about to lose him because you're a weak little shit. See, I know all about this. It's always on the news—people who have lost their spouses, their siblings, their kids. Most of them fight—refuse to give up even when the 'experts' call the case hopeless, but the rest hide and wish someone  _else_  had the strength to actually go out and find what they lost. Just like  _you_."

Yugi blinked once.

"Guess which ones are more likely to get their loved ones back," he sneered, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. When Yugi didn't respond, he pushed harder, his anger making him desperate to find something of what the fuck his cousin could  _ever_ see in this pathetic little boy. "I would kill for Yami, die for him. I would turn my life inside out if it meant that he could be just  _one tiny little bit_ happier than the day before."

Yugi suddenly sprang but Seto moved out of the way and he hit the desk hard but spun around and kicked him hard in the shin before punching wildly, though the CEO easily danced out of the way readily.

"Guys!" Rebecca snapped, looking at the screen again with furrowed brows. "Yami isn't looking so hot."

Both of them were immediately at the screen again, staring with wide eyes as they took in Yami's new condition, beads of sweat rolling off the teen's face, gaze scattered and feverish, gleaming with something dark and cold. His head jerked once and his jaw flexed once before he started blinking and squinted, shifting his attention back to head movements, the slightest of ticks and muscle movements as his eyes remained glassy and unfocused.

Seto stared for a long minute. "Aw fucking hell, Yami," he cursed.

"What?"

"He's inducing a seizure."

"What did you just say?" Yugi asked incredulously, turning back to the screen and blinking wide eyes when Yami twitched and his head jerked again.

"He's inducing a seizure. He's getting overheated and he's probably bringing on one of his migraines just moving like that. Any second now and he'll have a full on seizure going for him."

"Why the fuck would he do that?" Rebecca snarled, gawking. "That makes no goddamned sense!"

"It makes perfect sense," Yugi realized with wide eyes. "He's going to make them think he's too weak and defenseless to do anything…"

"And then what?" the blonde snapped. "Because I'm pretty sure that having a seizure is  _going_ to make him weak and pretty much defenseless!"

"Then he's going to go in for the kill," Seto murmured quietly, shaking his head slightly; Yami had gotten them distracted enough to start arguing with each other and now he was bringing on a seizure. Fucking brat that he was… He shook his head, slightly awed and partially just wanting to smack him for this.

"Wait, you said something about migraines?" Yugi suddenly demanded, watching as Yami finally stopped moving and clenched his jaw, lowering his head slightly and breathing hard.

"He's had migraines since he was six. They come at random times and without warning. But I'm guessing right now that the wound on his temple over there and his little movements are responsible for it coming on now."

"I need…pain medication," Yami rasped out, squeezing his eyes shut as his head throbbed violently and the Puzzle continued burning violently against his abdomen. "I need…"

"Why the fuck would we give you anything?" Arkana spat, immediately forgetting his argument with Pegasus and glaring at him angrily.

"He's laying that on pretty thick," Rebecca commented snidely, rolling her eyes.

"That's because he's not acting anymore," Seto snapped coldly.

"I need…" His eyes dilated when he finally opened them and raised his head, fixing them with a desperate look. "P-please. I need…I'll die without it…"

"Die?" Pegasus repeated, eyes widening as he swapped look with Arkana.

"What the fuck is this kid talking about, Pegasus?"

A low sharp keening noise came from across the room, doubling in volume suddenly before Yami started thrashing in his restraints, every part of his body seeming to vibrate and his fingers curling as that whimper grew tenfold.

"Goddamn it, Yami," the brunet growled, shaking his head and shoving both of the smaller teens out of the way to start typing rapidly before something; for a moment nothing seemed to happen and then Pegasus spat, "Oh fuck."

"What did you just…?"

A hint of panic settled in Yugi's bones, heart pounding and eyes widening drastically when he saw that the brunet had started rapidly shutting things down and setting his firewall up.

"N-no, wait—!" he pleaded, watching the screen close again, Yami fading from sight and his heart leaping into this throat with concern and desperation; why was he shutting the computer down? Why was he…? And when he had only just got to see that Yami was okay…

"Shut up," he snapped coldly, rolling his glacier-like blue eyes as Yugi's head snapped towards him with an incredulous expression. "They're going to take care of it. Yami was obviously betting on us to figure out where the fuck he was. I did my part. I sent the email saying that Yami wasn't kidding when he said that the stupid thing would kill him. And obviously they can't allow their bargaining chip to die, now can they?"

"It's just as well," Rebecca sighed, playing with her long blonde hair so that she wouldn't have to see that despair written across Yugi's face and hate Yami more. "The information that they sent about Yami with the video was encrypted with a code that 'only Yami's father would know'."

Seto gave her a small side glance that seemed to last forever before turning away again, jaw locking in place and teeth working on his cheek. Fucking Yami. Of course the bastard would do something so dangerously stupid but smart as fuck all the same.

He loved and hated that about him.

* * *

His eyelids felt heavy, his head felt funny, and if he had to describe the taste in his mouth, he'd guess it was what he imagined to be sewage water. His was thick and had plastered his tongue to the roof of his mouth, to the point that it was impossible for him to open his mouth for a moment, his first three tries complete failures. When his mouth finally opened, he found himself flexing his jaw several times, his fuzzy mind both enjoying the clicking grind of noise when he moved it and slowly growing more aware from it.

His throat felt rough, raw and slightly burned as if he had vomited and this was the consequence of the strained muscle movement that came with the action, but he knew he hadn't because he remembered it when he had finally been given the medication. The place was too dark, however, and he couldn't make note of anything to help him figure out where he was or give him even a hint as to what this place even  _was_. Even as sensitive to the light as his eyes were, he could see nothing…

He tipped his head up to look at the ceiling, only mildly surprised to find that there were stars overhead; for a moment his drugged, hazed mind actually thought there was nothing up there but then he saw the paneling and realized belatedly that it was glass overhead…

Yami closed his eyes again to help make the room stop spinning, and then slowly tipped his head down to rest it against his chin, the action slightly uncomfortable but oddly comforting all at once.

But…what was that around his neck?

There was something metal against his chin, beneath his flesh, cooling the drastic incline of heat that his skin had taken on. When he awkwardly, curiously, rubbed against it, he felt something cold like plastic and then the smooth body-heated texture of leather and the confusion of the sensation made his eyes open but his mind couldn't quite grasp the concept as immediately as it would have any other time. He vaguely wondered if e could feel the entire thing all around but he couldn't crane his neck like an owl so he settled for tipping his jaw downward to rest diagonally across the leather thing around his neck, soothed by the strange but slightly cool sensation the surface held for his heated skin, the leather obviously slightly cooled by the night air that made the room somewhat cold…

He only opened his eyes again when he knew that the dizziness—as slight as it was—died away slowly in the back of his mind and the pain in his neck woke him more fully when he went to lift his head more, stirred his consciousness, but did not stop him from coming to the conclusion that they had put a collar around his neck.

Slowly he went through a list of reasons why they would do that, all of them ranging rather drastically from one end to the other, and finally realized what it was, a small smirk creeping across his face.

He wondered if it was Pegasus or Arkana who came up with this stupid idea.

But either way, it still worked to help him test at his limits, see how far he could push without punishment, figure out his restraints as he needed to.

He moved his hands, twisting them to rub his thumbnail against the bottom of the threads; he really was glad he hadn't been so stupid as to clip them before because it was definitely in his favor now; he tilted his head, looking around in momentary confusion. Where the fuck were they all? surely they hadn't left him along with the assumption that drugging him would keep him asleep all night. No one could be  _that_ fucking stupid… _right_?

Maybe it was Pegasus and Arkana through the day and—?

Nope. Never mind. They were asleep on air mattresses over there in the corner.

Yami rolled his eyes. A portable TV hooked up to a generator.

Well…at least they knew how to keep it classy.

He guessed he had about two hours before they actually woke up if he judged the time right; he craned his neck, ignoring the pain that shot through him, looking up at the glass ceiling, and guessed it was about seven in the morning with the way that the sky was rapidly seeming to gain its lighter hue. Definitely not a good time for exploration.

By the  _gods_ , what the  _fuck_ had they  _given_  him?

Yami was pretty sure they had overdone the sleeping pills. His mouth had never  _been_ this dry before. It was still almost impossible to peel his tongue from his palate. Fucking assholes. Giving him paper cuts all over and pouring lemon juice on them would have been a better feeling at this point.

He let out a huff through his mouth, biting his tongue in instant regret. For fuck's sake, he  _needed_ mouthwash.

Maybe he could make Pegasus go for a run for mouthwash, let him mess with Arkana some. He could poke at his insecurities some, press barbs into his wounds and watch him writhe and beg. But he needed him alone so that the Puzzle could react to some of  _Arkana's_ darkness. Because, for whatever reason, Pegasus being there seemed to completely negate that  _wonderful_ habit the Puzzle had; he never wore it in public because of the publicity and recognition it would bring—he had told Yugi that, but mostly it was because the Puzzle liked to play games with him and anyone around it. it seemed to give him knowledge he shouldn't have, implanting images of bystanders' fears and insecurities,  _their_ darkness.

Past images of their actions, things that pulled at his psych and burned in his mind. He didn't have to speak to them, didn't have to look at them, didn't even need to be conscious of having the Puzzle around his neck. It just did it. Automatically…

It didn't need to be provoked or acknowledged; all it took was someone being  _near_ him and it would pick at them and thus him.

But it didn't  _do_ that with Pegasus. He had to  _ask_ and be  _given_ answers or make good of his observation skills and his  _mostly_ keen guesswork.

Yami chewed his cheek; Pegasus wasn't the  _only_ one it did this with, however.

It couldn't read on his cousins and it was  _pathetically_ strained when it came to anyone els in the family.

It couldn't read on Seto's workers.

It couldn't read on that kid who had been gawking at him when he had attacked Ushio in the locker room after gym.

It couldn't read on the boy from the cafeteria who said Yugi and his cousins were coming to help him.

And…most importantly, something that  _had_ rattled him to his core, it couldn't read Yugi or his grandfather.

A single piece was enough to give a reading at times, most important being the eye that he took with him everywhere, the one that he  _knew_  was the strongest, his "good luck charm" that he was well aware he was abusing the hell out of.

But it hadn't done anything with Yugi or Solomon.

Not even when he wore the  _entire_ thing near the smaller teen; the fact that Solomon lived there should have given it  _enough_ of a presence to get a read on him.

But no.

It hadn't done so.

He had been waiting for it to happen, expecting it anytime he was close to the other teen.

And he had been both  _sorely disappointed_ and  _immensely grateful_ when it failed to.

And now he was  _horribly_ aware of the fact that he was provoking something he had  _no idea_  how to control.

Maybe it would warp his mind more than it already had since the very  _first_  time he had touched it.

Or maybe it wouldn't.

He had no idea but he wasn't about to let that scare him away from what he had to do.

The Puzzle warmed against his clothing as if in acknowledgment but where it should have scared him some, it only made him that  _much_  more sure of what he needed to do; he tipped his head to the side, resting his cheek against his shoulder for a moment, staring at the wall as the artifact around his neck heated once more, Osiris flashing through his mind again.

A game of survival, death in all its glory.

He closed his eyes, his mind shuffling through the events in survival camp, where at first the counselors had tried to take the Puzzle away, proclaiming it a distraction, only to have their hands burned and their sight taken away when they touched it, relieved of both sensations only a few minutes after they had taken their hands away. Many of the others complained and Yami had openly  _dared_ someone to try to take it from him; someone had attempted it while he was asleep and all of them had woken to the boy's screams, something that had happened every night when he went to sleep. The Puzzle had been nicknamed "the devil's trinket" and Yami a demon, something that had honestly made him laugh most of the time.

He'd never once consciously attempted to use it, hadn't needed to before now.

And the entire thing was foreign to him; he'd never  _desired_  to use it before.

It had honestly scared him too much to ever attempt using but he had to admit that idea of doing so, if only in passing, had reared its head up more than once over the years. And he was pretty sure the Puzzle had done some things in which he had somehow managed to unconsciously draw on it.

Like when he spoke to his teacher about being given his future assignments, the conversation that Yugi had witnessed that day he asked him if he was homosexual. She honestly shouldn't have agreed so easily.

He opened his eyes when Pegasus stirred.

Let the games begin.

* * *

"Hey, Duke!"

The other boy turned around with his eyebrow raised, at first not recognizing the brunet but then relaxing slightly. "Tristan, what's up?"

"Not much. I was actually wondering if I could borrow your phone for a minute. I forgot to plug mine in last night and I need to call my mom. I forgot I had detention later—"

"I didn't really ask for all of that," the teal-eyed teen muttered, shrugging off his explanation and digging into his pocket to pull his phone out and hand it over.

That seemed… _far_ too easy.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one."

"No problem. Just be quick about it."

"Sure thing."

The brunet went about walking several feet away in order to play with the phone, feigning typing in a few numbers and really rolling through the received and outgoing calls quickly, finding that it was literally almost only his father who was in the entire thing.

He quickly put in his own phone number and put it to his ear, saying a simple, "I have a different phone," he explained when the other teen glanced at him, curious about why he was still playing on it rather than calling. Tristan felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, ignored it, redialed, and then handed it over to Duke again, saying, "I guess she isn't home" even as he wondered at the possibility of the teen having a second phone.

Because, obviously, his father was  _not_ pretty much the only person that he spoke to.

* * *

Yami ran his tongue over his teeth and bit back a complaint about the plaque buildup, scowling at himself momentarily; with the way he was obsessing over this, he should change all his classes to become a hygienist.

"My mouth is dry," he stated, making both of them turn their heads towards him. "And it tastes disgusting. Could you  _please_  pick up some mouthwash?"

"What the fuck?  _No_ ," Arkana snapped. "First painkillers and now he wants  _mouthwash_?"

"You know, I'm seriously strange with diseases and such. My immune system is odd," he continued, looking at Pegasus and not sparing a glance towards Arkana; he had to be riled up from what Yami knew—which was hardly anything in reality—about the Puzzle. "Really, you're going to have me here for another two days, so by the third, I could honestly die from gum disease."

"I'm…pretty sure that wouldn't happen," Pegasus snickered, thoroughly amused.

Yami let out a soft scoffing noise. "You kidnap someone and they  _willingly_  tell you about their weak immune system and you say something like  _that_? How rude can you  _get_ , Arkana?"

"You're a  _hostage_. We're not  _supposed_  to be  _polite_."

"I'm practically  _royalty_. It would be wise of you to realize that, you stupid piece of shit," Yami snapped, turning back to Pegasus. "I would  _really_  like some mouthwash, please."

"Watch him spit it in someone's face."

"Oh  _please_. I'm  _hardly_  that barbaric. Just buy a cup for me to spit in and it's all good…Unless you  _want_  me to die from accelerated gum disease?"

"I call bullshit. You can't just get gum disease in three days."

Pegasus started laughing while Arkana rolled his eyes, grumbling about him being an idiot.

"Don't mistake my species for  _yours_ , Arkana."

Arkana narrowed his eyes for a moment, not speaking as he thought it over, and the teen snickered a soft, "Proved my point exactly" while Pegasus snorted and shook his head.

"So…mouthwash?"

"Yes, yes. Mouthwash. I got it."

"What the  _fuck_?"

"He'll die of accelerated gum disease," the creator of Duel Monsters snickered.

The jester scowled and shook his head while Yami called out an overly polite "Thank you" as Pegasus left, red eyes tracking him as he disappeared from sight and then gazed upon his captor.

"So…" he drawled, not surprised when he ignored him pointedly but more than a little annoyed when he couldn't feel the Puzzle; where was the flash of steam or chill of mist? Was Pegasus still somewhere nearby? But the Puzzle had responded to him before while he was still around…

Well…on the bright side, even if he couldn't figure out  _how_  to use the Puzzle, eh still got mouthwash for his efforts…

He had to admit that in this situation, it was a rather nice consolation prize.

At this rate, that was almost as good as a naked Yugi giving him a lap dance and then saying he loved him back.

"That's fucking disgusting."

Yami gave him a confused look; had he spoken out loud?

The jester had his arms crossed, turned away and shaking his head, and he took a moment to realize that he had turned to him when he hadn't continued his sentence, but what had—?

Oh.

Goddamn it.

He rolled his eyes, frustrated, and a brief flash of heat ran through him; he blinked once and then frowned. The Puzzle responded to his emotions? but what about all of those times he had been completely indifferent and it gave him information he didn't want? He knew physical contact sometimes did that to him, transferred images and the occasional  _thought_  into his head where it simmered like meat on a grill, burning before settling. It was one of the  _many_  reasons he hated to be touched.

He'd baited Arkana enough to hit him and allow him purchase of some of his darkness, as small as it was, when he had smacked him and grabbed him by the hair, but not enough to truly play with him. And he had to play…

Maybe it wasn't giving him A _rkana's_  darkness because of Pegasus? Did whatever Pegasus had that prevented him from gathering information linger in the air or something? or maybe it was exposure to him that kept him so completely immune…

If he couldn't read his cousins or Seto's workers, was it because he was  _around_  or because he  _interacted_  with them daily as he did?

But he knew his own darkness, knew how to draw on it actively, without having to try, so maybe he wouldn't  _need_  to focus on his frustration to be able to pick at Arkana…

Now all he had to do was get Arkana talking.

* * *

"Shit."

Yugi and Rebecca both glanced at the brunet but turned away again quickly when they waved him off, gesturing vaguely with his hand. "Hello?"

"Hey, did Yami like…bail town or something? Because I had to get something out of his house and he's not here," Bakura growled on the other end, suspicious in tone and frustrated out of his mind.

"No, Bakua, he's over at Yugi's—"

"What?" Yugi mouthed at him, shaking his head.

Seto waved him off immediately.

"Yugi's? Why the fuck would he be there?"

"Because they're shacking up again, you idiot."

"Seriously, Seto?" the silver-haired teen snarled. "Don't get smart with me, got it? I'm tired and fucking cranky as all hell and you are pushing too far, idiot. Now is Yami seriously with Yugi or not?"

"Yes, he's with Yugi, right now. They're shacking up again."

"So why the fuck isn't he answering his phone?"

"I don't know. Maybe it died or something? I just saw him a minute ago. Try calling him again or something."

"…If you already fucking saw him, why would I call him again?" He could almost  _hear_ him rolling his eyes and he unconsciously smirked at the thought. "That would be a fucking waste of time."

"Probably. But it's  _your_ time to waste."

"Son of a—"

Yugi watched as Seto snickered at the lit up screen that said Bakura had hung up, watched him put the phone down and turn back to the laptop.

* * *

His head exploded with pain and his conscience seemed to splinter and break like glass being dropped, the shards flickering everywhere and tearing into him, making him bleed. Thoughts and memories overlapped, his emotions slipping through the cracks and burning, searing like he had put his hand inside of a live flame. His vision disappeared altogether for a moment and then molded itself back again, pictures of blood and war, insidious sickness and madness surging through his mind and leaving him choking on blood that bubbled up in his throat, burning like bile.

He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, putting his chin against his chest, feeling as if something was slithering beneath his skin, moving along his muscles like a cobra and the bitter flare of cold venom making his heart stop for a moment. His lungs constricted violently and he fought back a tremor at the ice that was forming inside of him.

And then it was gone.

Yami wasn't really sure how it happened or even  _when_  but he was staring at Arkana who seemed unimpressed with whatever he had just seen, eyes giving a bored gleam as he raised his head completely.

What the fuck had just  _happened_?

He blinked a few times and  _swore_  the shadows were moving but when he focused on them, they were as they were meant to be.

But now that he was truly paying attention, he realized slowly that something actually  _had_  charged.

When Arkana looked at him again, it hit him; whatever had been protecting him before was completely gone.

And Yami was watching some kind of strange flashback of a blond magician helping his assistant into a box. From the way they squeezed hands for the smallest fraction of a second, he knew the two of them were lovers. The moment she was in the box, the image changed; the girl was gone, there was fire everywhere, and Arkana was trapped under a stage beam. The next thing he saw was the jester in hospital bed, his entire face and the back of his neck bandaged; the girl was speaking and shaking her head and Arkana was obviously pleading with her, but then she stood up and wandered off. Arkana was at a wedding, watching his former lover marry a rival magician who performed tricks at the altar and then Arkana was seeing  _just_  how much his rival made and his flame, his  _wife_  and the children they had. Pegasus was talking to him, the two of them making plans…

"How  _cute_ ," he drawled darkly, snarling as the images faded. "You thin that Pegasus's little scheme will get you enough money to win her back. You're a fool. She's already  _move on_. She has  _children_. And she will  _never_  spare you a second glance. She left you at the hospital after  _years_  of  _pretending_  to love you and stealing your money on the side. All while  _really_  being committed to another."

Arkana stared at him as if he was the devil incarnate and Yami smirked at him coldly.

Just enough of his darkness to torment him.

And just in time.

Because Pegasus was back.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You look like you just saw the devil," the other man snorted, rolling his eye as he headed over to his accomplice; Yami could feel something grated at the inside of his head, digging long nails in and squeezing harshly, but it was gone again a second later and when he glanced at Pegasus, he knew it was him but he had no idea how that worked.

It irritated the fuck out of him but at the same time he didn't truly care enough to actually bother with the idea of figuring it out.

He had another plan that he needed to put in place first.

* * *

He had two phones.

Tristan cringed as he watched him talking to someone who  _definitely_ not his dad, the tone saying that they were only business partners, but the brunet couldn't  _speak_ English so he was stuck listening to the anger in his voice versus knowing what was being said.

But he had two phones.

That were completely identical.

He wished he knew English now, because this was getting under his skin.

* * *

Time to push at some boundaries.

Arkana and Pegasus were talking about something and Yami was pretty sure he heard Duke's name being mentioned more than once, but he didn't care enough to actually listen to whatever they were saying; as far as Yami was concerned, Duke was just  _there_. Pegasus bought him over with some kind of promise about something or other just to make sure that he could have eyes on Yami the entire time he was at school and get information in that way, maybe had him following them to find out where he lived or something. But he knew it was mostly to just alienate him further, make it easier for when he got him alone and caught him like this.

Yami pursed his lips; if he had actually fought Arkana more than that, he would have won. But the Puzzle, that stupid blasted artifact, had given him the perfect guise under which he would get caught.

And really, with the way the cards kept reading, it meant that no matter if he had won the fight with Arkana, things would have just gotten worse—there would have been nothing to stop the others from being drawn into it all…

They turned away and Yami threw the rope off, wondering if he should run or what he should do after; really, he hadn't thought that much through so completely. He had just wanted to test out the theory of whether this collar was truly a shocker. So…now what? Did he  _run_? Or try to attack or…? Gods, what the fuck was he supposed to do?

Neither of them were really paying attention, even when Pegasus turned his head and stared at him, raising his eyebrow and watching him while Arkana did the same; what the fuck was he supposed to do, honestly?

"Hmm…"

"Well, I guess it's time to punish him a little, right?"

Pegasus blinked, stared at Yami for a second, turned to Arkana, stared at them both, and then shrugged, mumbling, "Sure, I mean…he got loose?"

"Normally people would run."

Yami blushed and ducked his head; goddamn it. Why hadn't he thought this one through completely? He blamed the hit on the side of his head…and possibly the shock Arkana had given him before when he kidnapped him.

Yeah, it fried his brain and now—

"I've  _always_ wanted to try this."

He heard a small but extremely distinct clicking noise like a switch being flipped or a button pressed and pained laced through his throat, forceful enough to send him falling onto his side, twitching as his body rocked through spasms and a snarl ripped through him, hands grasping at his head, legs kicking as he felt the splinters of energy that made his nerves feel fried.

"This is awesome."

"God, you're so barbaric," Pegasus snarled, grabbing the remote and turning it off; Yami blinked a few times, seeing spots of light that bled together and pricked at his corneas violently, neon and burning in the center of his mind. Gods, someone had just lit his entire body on fire from the inside out…

Slowly, cautiously, he went about evaluating the damage.

His fingers worked. His eyes worked. His ears, though throbbing and leaving him dazed, worked. His neck worked when he rolled his head and cringed, tucking his chin against his chest at the flares of pain that spread through him with the action, almost like an echo of energy that left him wanting to scream. His tongue, though numb and dry and suffocating in its swollen state that Yami couldn't figure out at first before his mind supplied him the detail of blood coating his taste buds and realizing he had bitten the pink muscle, worked. His fingers, twitching and tingling from where they were buried in his hair, worked. His toes inside of his shoes worked. His internals obviously still worked though his breathing was coming out strained because of the impact of it all. His legs, which he slowly moved to close when Pegasus started to approach, worked…

"You…shocked me…" Yami managed to his out from between his teeth even as his tongue scraped against the back of them and alerted him to more blood; wow, they had actually shocked him…The fuck?

"Bingo, Yami-boy."

He fought back a shudder purely because his scattered mind couldn't remember how, feeling sick to his stomach as his insides lurched for a second and he swore he heard his heart tremble in his ribcage.

"See, we suspected that you would be able to get out of those ropes. You are your father's son after all."

"Fuck you…" he breathed, trying to spit the words out but feeling too tired; what the fuck did that phrase even mean? His father couldn't even  _tie_ a decent knot, let alone get  _out_  of one. "I am not his son."

"How unfortunate of you to say that. Because he certainly seems to think you still are."

Yami breathed hard through his teeth, baring them with an inability to look even slightly intimidating; either he looked like he was grimacing or he looked like he was trying to smile and couldn't make his lips twist the right way to portray the facial expression. "Fuck you, Pegasus."

For a moment there was no response and then a foot prodded at his legs.

"Don't touch me!" he spat, rage making the warning come out as a low snarl that made both of them freeze in surprise as the red-eyed teen pulled his legs up to lay in the fetal position, tipping his head back and looking at them both; dear gods, had he really just done that? Asshole. Oh yeah, he was definitely going to enjoy kicking him around later.

The gray-silver-haired man sighed and wagged a finger at him. "You're wasting so much energy," he chided, tone bordering on playful and making Yami want to get up and tear his other eye out.

"Shut up." He turned his attention to Arkana because at the least the fucker hated him as much as he did him; his voice came out gravelly and cold. "Nice."

He shrugged and smirked, eyes gleaming. "Electricity works on dogs."

Oh, so he thought this was payback for him fucking with him earlier? Bullshit.

Yami rolled his eyes and bit back his initial respond and the urge to try to attack him, subdued by the reality of the situation and the knowledge that he honestly didn't think his body could take another shock like that. He wasn't stupid; he knew that that amount of voltage in his system should have fucking killed him. He narrowed his eyes slightly and swallowed hard, feeling sick to his stomach as it seemed to quiver inside of him; the Puzzle…

It had to have done something…

He raised his hand to touch the eye, feeling the warmth that stung his nerves and made his fingers tingle like sparks, his mouth momentarily taking on that feeling of being able to taste the lightning in the air during a summer storm. It was crackling in his ears…

He was sluggish when he wondered about answers for this, but then the memories of survival camp, mumbles about "the devil's trinket" and his counselors screaming when they had temporarily lost all sense of sight and their flesh smelled charred, brought him around to the strange thought of how Atem had been a war hero, always the one in the front of the army when he fought. He was put in history books as the greatest leader of Egypt, praised with Alexander the Great and King Arther— _if_ he was real, anyways; Yami still wasn't really sure if he believed in him just yet—and the Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan. Atem had been a massive war hero, never backing down from a fight…and rumored to be immortal for a long time.

Gods, the concrete was so  _cool_ …

Vaguely he wondered if he had a fever but mostly his mind was circulating around what he had deduced about the Puzzle earlier.

The power and knowledge of the darkness—human darkness, bred in the soul, born in the heart, hatred and anger and sorrow and fear…all things that Atem would have felt when he was given the Puzzle at only the age of eight.

The problem was that while hieroglyphics said that they thought the pharaoh was immortal, he had died when he was only seventeen.

But no one actually knew  _how_.

When he was younger, he had been curious about finding out why but as he grew older, his father had been adamant about making him see things his way—anything but his future role in leadership was completely unacceptable and stupid. So he had given up on it and now he was wondering why he hadn't thought about looking into it when he had gotten to Japan…

But the thoughts of what was going on hardly meant that he wasn't well aware that the Puzzle had just saved him. He didn't know how and he was honestly terrified to even think about it more than a few seconds, but it was true and he couldn't ignore it. The thing had fucking saved him. Because the amount of bolts and the few minutes he had been exposed to them, could have killed a horse.

He opened his eyes and stared at Pegasus for a moment, finding that he and Arkana were talking to each other now, practically ignoring him but not so much that they weren't well aware that he was watching them like this. They had to have tried to take off the Puzzle at some point, because he could see the blisters still on Arkana's palms and Pegasus's eye had a small bit of white in the center like a pinprick of cataracts that he couldn't get rid of. So it had burned Arkana and possibly made Pegasus blind for a moment?

He didn't have to really think about it to know that the Puzzle wielded something  _other_ than just personal darkness.

Unless Arkana and the counselors were  _all_ afraid of fire and Pegasus was scared of going blind.

"You said…it was unfortunate for me. What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that your dear daddy replied."

Yami narrowed his eyes slowly and shook his head slightly, wincing at the pain of the moment and feeling stupid for even contemplating a movement like that. "You're so full of shit," he breathed, croaking at the edges as he found himself thinking that if the Puzzle had protected him before, it would protect him again as he let the darkness sink its claws in and lead him to unconsciousness.

* * *

They were streaming live again, Seto having hacked Yami's father's email once more, and all three of them got the image of Arkana dragging a very limp Yami back over to his seat where he was unceremoniously thrown into the wooden chair, his body nearly falling out almost immediately. Pegasus hissed something at him and Seto stared; he knew that guy. He was a pedophile. In the one time he had met him, he'd looked at Mokuba as if he were some kind of meal.

A million thoughts sprang to mind but he slowly pushed them away. Surely even Pegasus wouldn't do that…?

"Tie him up, Croquet."

There was rattling and Arkana held Yami upright so that he didn't fall out of his seat and all of them watched as a man with pale skin and gray hair, his head full of the thick locks, standing with a thick silver-gray chain, a grayish black moustache on his lips and wearing a dark blue suit with a dark puke-green tie.

Seto shook his head. He looked like a goddamned butler…

Either way, Croquet went about tying his cousin up around the waist with his arms tucked into his sides, the chain wrapping tightly and securely all the way to his shoulders where he promptly locked it with a padlock.

"Son of a bitch…"

He recognized that two-faced fucker in the corner of the screen.

Goddamn it.

* * *

"I thought this was a horror movie," Yugi muttered, turning his head towards him and frowning at the vacant look that Yami knew lingered on his face; for a moment he couldn't find it in him to bother with giving Yugi his attention but slowly his eyes drifted and settled on his face.

"It's supposed to be."

The smaller teen pursed his lips at him. "This movie sucks."

"I know."

Yami frowned at the way that the other boy shuddered for a split second and then turned away, as if unnerved by his attention or possibly just sitting on the couch with him like this. Or maybe it was his eyes that did it to him. The look in them.

He wondered if it scared him.

"Hey…so are you…? I mean, uh…never mind," Yugi muttered, rolling his eyes and getting up. "I should go."

"It's already two," he objected quietly. "You can't just go."

"I need to be home to open the shop or fuck knows I won't do it."

Yami got to his feet as Yugi walked around the couch and started for the door, frowning as he hurried to catch up with him; the smaller teen turned around and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'll walk you home."

"What? No way. I don't need a babysitter."

"No one said anything about babysitting," he drawled lazily, suddenly smirking as he pulled the door open for him and Yugi frowned but stepped outside; maybe it was the fact that he insisted on this or maybe it was just him being there that made him so uncomfortable but Yami forced himself to ignore it anyways. "Although, if there was ever a teen that actually needed to be babysat, it's definitely you."

"Fuck you," Yugi snorted, laughing. "You need one more than I do. You're a fucking mess."

"As if you could even put me up there with you," Yami scoffed. "You're far worse than I am."

"I am  _not._ "

"Boy in denial say—"

"Fuck you. He says fuck you," the smaller laughed, wandering ahead of him by a couple of paces; Yami hurried to catch up and frowned when he found himself standing in the doorway to the game shop. Yugi turned around as if confused by his sudden hesitation, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

When he glanced back he honestly couldn't see the street anymore. "What the fuck?" he muttered, turning back and swallowing hard when the smaller teen furrowed his brows.

"You're not leaving right?"

"I…uh…yeah. I thought I would."

"You said yourself that it's already past two. Do you  _really_ think I'm going to let you leave?" Yugi scoffed, gesturing him over with a beckoning motion before heading up the stairs, glancing back at him every couple of steps before finally stopping at the top and glaring down at him. "Yami, seriously, fucking come on."

Yami shot a glance out the door again, frowning before closing the door and following him up; his mind said there was something wrong with it all but the atmosphere was as normal as always and Yugi was completely impatient and waiting, leaning against the banister and gesturing again for him to follow before huffing and rolling his eyes as he led the way into the living room.

"We can watch TV or play video games or something until we get tired," Yugi announced, sitting down on the couch and looking at him. "Oh come on, you're not a prisoner this time. I just don't want you going out like this right now."

Yami nodded a little and something bit at the back of his mind but not hard enough to draw his focus; his body moved before he really thought it through, taking a seat with him and watching as the TV was turned on. He settled against the backrest and Yugi hummed a tune that was familiar but left him unsure of where he had heard it. When he blinked, Yugi was playing a game and he was holding a controller but he wasn't sure which character was his until the moment that he died and the smaller teen snorted, "And you call yourself a gamer."

"I…what?" he muttered, choking on the words but feeling sick to his stomach as Yugi reached over and touched his forehead as if searching for a fever.

"Either you're a little short a few screws today or everything's getting to you," the smaller teen announced, frowning but giving him a small smile when he gave him a confused look. "We'll just call it a night, okay?"

"But I'm not tired."

"You look it."

"But I don't  _feel_ it."

"Sometimes you don't feel it until you close your eyes."

Yami blinked and found himself sitting with Mokuba now, the eight-year-old messing with his lunch and glancing at him with a small grin.

"I dare you to eat this."

"What is it?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Peanut butter, banana and jelly."

"That sounds utterly disgusting."

"Aw, come on, Yami."

He pursed his lips but got up and wandered over. "Fine. But what do I get if I do it?"

"Um…I don't know…uh…" Mokuba started looking around for anything that might have been something to catch his cousin's eyes but fell short when he couldn't find a single thing. For a moment he looked perplexed but then his lips curled up into a wide grin. "Ah-ha! I know what! We're going to have a contest!"

"Contest?" Yami repeated slowly.

"Yeah, we're going to see who can eat the most disgusting—"

"Disgusting?" he echoed, wrinkling his nose and glaring at him playfully. "Now why would I do  _that_?"

"Because I'm  _challenging_ you."

Yami couldn't help it when his eyes widened slightly and he sat up somewhat, tilting his head and staring pointedly, waiting for the rules. Mokuba grinned at him so widely it was a wonder that his lips didn't touch his ears at that point.

"Good, okay, so here's what we're going to do. We're both going to make a sandwich with the exact same things but they have to be gross or else it's against the rules," the smaller boy announced, grinning widely. "And we're going to see who doesn't puke afterwards."

"…Seto is going to kill me if you get sick."

"I have an iron stomach," Mokuba announced, hitting it with his fist and winking, making Yami smile a little before shaking his head in amusement. "Promise I won't vomit. Can't say the same for you though."

Yami narrowed his eyes. "Game on, Moky, game on."

"Don't call me that!" he whined, throwing his hands up. "I was three!"

"It's cute. Going around to people and saying, 'Hi, my name is Moky'," Yami snorted, laughing and watching as his cheeks turned bright red.

"You're an ass."

"And you're lucky I'm not a snitch because I know Seto wouldn't be very happy about your word choice," Yami muttered, rolling his eyes; when he focused again, Mokuba was no longer there and the entire house had disappeared.

He looked around him in confusion, eyes wide as he took in everything; the normal reaction would have been to wonder where he was but the teen was actually more curious about why it looked like an Egyptian tomb with such shiny beautiful golden walls of brick. It was dark in certain areas, pitch black the shade of which he had never seen before, lingering in those empty spaces like stains of dark ink, lapping at the edges of everything around him.

A million paths.

Upside down stairs.

Right-side up stairways…

Chambers of those same golden bricks…

Darkness on the outside but lighter on the inside.

He blinked and craned his neck upwards.

Darkness and empty corridors.

 _Now_  he wondered where the hell he was, shaking his head slowly.

First he was reliving memories and now he was…here.

A movement caught his eye and he turned his head, confused at first but growing somewhat relieved at the sight of at least  _one_  familiar thing thought he didn't understand how it existed there.

"Yugi!"

The small teen paused from where he had been passing around the corner, touching the sharp edge of the wall, blue-violet eyes gleaming as they watched him for a moment before a small grin claimed his lips.

He blinked, half confused but rapidly growing excited with the very idea of even  _seeing_  him there; he started forward immediately and the teen hummed a soft tune as he approached, that grin widening as he got a food away.

"Where—?"

Well…he should have seen that one coming.

"Wait up!" he snarled, chasing him.

"Move your feet," Yugi laughed, winking at him over his shoulder before wandering off again.

Yami swore he spent over an hour just wandering up and down stairways, never losing sight of the smaller teen who made sure to slow down when he stopped and grew tired of the game, his body proving to be extremely resistant to exhaustion as he continued moving along after the other boy.

"Yugi…" he whispered, shaking his head at the aspect of having to chase him anymore; why wouldn't he just stop and talk to him? He needed to just talk to him for a moment or else he was going to lose his mind and never recover again and…

Oh gods…

"What's wrong, Yami?" the teen teased, grinning at him playfully as he tilted his head and raised a brow. "Tired out already?"

"No, I just don't see the point in all of this. I don't want to play chase or cat and mouse."

The other boy definitely noticed that he had not said his name, eyes flashing for the briefest of moments before he narrowed them and allowed his grin to grow wider. "You're not going to play with me? Shame."

The other teen stared at him for a long minute and stepped forward, half surprised when the smaller boy didn't dash off immediately; instead he got a few feet away from him and stopped and Yugi still didn't move away as he had expected.

"Why are we playing?"

"To wake you up."

"I am awake."

"No."

Yami turned his head in confusion at the sound of hissing, voices that coiled in his ear and left him half-wanting to vomit and half-desiring to search the source out, staring in puzzlement around him and then turning back to see Yugi shake his head and gesture around vaguely.

"Tell me, Atem, what do you see when you look around?"

He frowned at the way that his name rolled off his tongue, narrowing his eyes in frustration and following his lead to glance around once more, turning back with a small shake of his head. "Nothing. I see nothing."

"Damn it," Yugi spat, shaking his head and screwing his eyes shut. "You need to wake up."

Yami went to argue but something in his head said that the other male was right; he wasn't awake. His senses were awake and startlingly aware, seeming so strung out that it was horrifying when he really thought about it, but he wasn't actually awake. Not in the sense that the other obviously wanted him to be.

"You can't see anything around you. How the fuck can you think for even a moment that you're actually  _awake_?" Yugi hissed in frustration, reaching up to run a hand through his hair with a sigh. "There is nothing around you for you to see, nothing around to actually be the source of that voice that just whispered in your ear and yet you were about to claim you were awake."

The smaller teen moved forward and reached out to cup his cheeks, eyes gleaming sharply for a moment as Yami flinched backwards at the cold chill they brought across his skin.

"Why haven't you asked yet?"

"Asked what?"

"The questions that anyone  _else_ would be asking, damn it. You should be asking why we're telling you to wake up or why the fuck you're here. Maybe why I'm the only one here with you. How about 'What happened to Mokuba, Yugi?' or 'Where the fuck  _am_  I?' Gods, I swear your calmness is just fucking ridiculous."

"Why would I call you Yugi when you're not him?" Yami stated softly, staring at him coldly for a moment. "I'm not stupid and you're not Yugi."

The teen narrowed his eyes slowly, a smirk crawling across his face as he stepped back. "Smart boy."

"Yes," he stated mildly, half unsure of it was his own voice that had crept across the air as it had, slow, dragging and scraping as if weighted down by something. He stepped forward and reached out, catching him by the wrist; Yugi's image flickered, replaced with caramelized skin and purple flecks swimming in blood beneath long shadows. He jerked his hand away when fire spread through the bones hidden beneath his skin, burning from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder. " _Ra_."

"Not quite," he teased, pausing and staring before slowly allowing the right side of his mouth to quirk up. "Very close though. Now come. We need to wake you."

"And what happens to you?"

That smirk widened. "I'm here. Now come."

* * *

Yami blinked his eyes open slowly, taking in his surroundings slowly, straining his sluggish senses into awareness so sharp it was almost draining.

"Atem," he hissed out softly, red eyes darting around, "where are you?"

The shadows quivered in the corner of his eye but nothing took form there. No, but he hadn't really expected it to anyways.

The Puzzle.

He had been inside the Puzzle…

"How do I go  _back_?" he questioned, staring into the darkness. "Tell me how, Atem."

The chains were cold but burning against his flesh as he took in the task of actually paying attention in that split second, his mind keen and alert and seeming to pulse for a moment, a slow and steady kind of thing that made his skin crawl but relieved him at the same time. He rolled his head and his neck burned and flared with pain, but other than that he was fine.

He made a low groaning noise in the back of his throat to get their attention, nearly laughing when they both turned their heads and Arkana smirked, gesturing towards the remote while Pegasus made a chiding noise and shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval and wagging his finger at the jester. "Now, now, Arkana. We can't use that electric collar every time he messes up. But there are  _other_  ways to punish him."

Oh for fuck's sake.

He shook his head in frustration; leave it to fucking Pegasus to make him feel as if he were being targeted for prostitution. But then again, he already knew the bastard was completely enticed by him as it was, so he didn't doubt the threat was highly sexual like his mind had initially thought it in the first place.

"This shit is worth ten of whatever you have in mind."

"You're shock happy, you idiot. He's sixteen and too skinny to begin with"—Yami looked over, confused and slightly hurt; he liked his weight—"shock him too much and you'll fucking kill him."

"No skin off my teeth," Arkana grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"It is if we don't get our fucking money."

Yami turned away but his head quickly snapped back around when Pegasus started towards him at a leisurely pace; was it him or was he…sashaying? He blinked and furrowed his brows, narrowing his eyes before tilting his head. Huh. He wondered if he could ever convince Yugi to do that for him, because though he hated it on Pegasus, he could see himself leaping off the couch and jumping Yugi's bones for it. Then again, he really wanted a lap dance from his shorter look-alike. That was, if he ever got the fuck out of here.

Pegasus stopped in front of him and leaned forward slightly, staring at him. "Your dad responded, by the way."

"Did he tell you to fuck yourself?" Yami sneered at him. "Because by all means, I'm not his son by anything other than biology."

"That seems to be enough for him."

The red-eyed teen felt a chill run through him. His father…coming here…for  _him_? No, there was something else going on. He wasn't coming for him.

Thick gray-silver locks of hair touching his cheek made him snap out of his thoughts and struggle in his seat. "What the fuck are you doing?" he spat, eyes wide. "Back off, you fucking bitch!"

Pegasus chuckled in amusement. "It's funny how you get so quiet when you're mad," he commented wily, lowering his voice and grabbing his jaw to whisper in his ear. "And yet you're so loud in the bedroom."

He didn't waste a single second. Exposing the fact that he had already figured out a slight flaw to their little tactic of chaining him like this was a bitch by all means, yes, but either way, it was worth it. He kicked off the ground so that the chair tipped on its back legs and then slammed his boots into his stomach as he started to fall backwards but just barely managed to lean forward at the last second to put the front legs back again.

Pegasus went flying from the forceful kick while Yami struggled in his bindings and tried to squirm out of the chains, panicked as he tried to pull his legs through the thick links that bound him to the chair from the waist. The problem was that he didn't have enough room to maneuver, couldn't slip through it like he wanted to, couldn't use his feet to push up and wiggle his body. No, the chains were too tight and too heavy.

"Sedate him," the gray-silver-haired man snarled.

Sedate?

 _Sedate_?

His head snapped around, eyes wide as the word started rushing through his head, smashing into him harshly enough that it made his ears ring and brought pure panic; how long had he been inside the Puzzle? How long had they had the sedatives? Had he missed them or had they gotten them while he was still unconscious?

The former magician started forward and Yami started squirming and struggling harder; when he reached him and put the syringe near him Yami chomped his teeth through the glass so that the tranquilizer hit the ground. A sharp strike to the back of the head had Yami spitting out chunks of glass glistening with blood and Yugi whimpered softly as he watched.

Arkana grabbed him and applied pressure to the point in his neck and Yami seemed to go completely still before his head lolled and Arkana smacked him one last time so that his head jerked but he didn't move otherwise.

"Stop touching him, you idiot. You might kill him. He can't take too much more."

Pegasus was purring and Yugi wanted to jump through the screen and wring his neck.

It was several hours later still that Yami finally awoke again. Pegasus barked out a laugh from where he was sipping some red wine and Arkana sat a few feet away, studying the boy who sluggishly raised his head and then spat a couple of times before turning his face away and throwing up violently.

"Ew," the silver-haired man stated, scrunching his nose in distaste.

Yami rolled his head and bared his teeth before turning his face away again, groaning; he refused to let it travel up his throat again. It had been hard enough forcing it down in the first place as he had. And the stupid thing was his ticket to getting out of the stupid chains…

"Clean that up, would you, Arkana?" Pegasus called without looking up.

Arkana shot him a nasty look before finally turning and heading off into another room; when he returned he had a trashcan that he settled on Yami's other side while he started to clean up the vomit.

Yami's eyes took him in but they were glazed and tired and he was obviously too exhausted to really make an effort to turn his head; for a moment, as they looked at each other, he thought he saw the teen's pupils expanding and pushing into the blood of his irises like the way that light reflected off water, little gleaming pricks of black…

The live video feed was cut off abruptly after Yami retched a second time and then looked like he was choking on something, his eyes dilating as he barked out cough after cough, eventually making saliva bubble up and foam in his mouth like rabies.

"Aw fuck," was the last thing they heard before the video died.

* * *

Yugi stared at the still-frame on the screen for a long time. "There's…a loading dock a few hours south of here. People load and unload there all the time. And there's a café a few blocks down from there that has wi-fi that stretches that far. That must be where they're at."

"How do you even know this?" Seto demanded, his tone a little hostile.

"I went down there with Joey and Tristan every now and then. We would just mess around with the things up there, but the last time I checked, it was a lot more cluttered…" he murmured, frowning and squinting at the screen; oh yeah, he knew this place. They had folded up the stairs and tucked them into the walk overhead, but the crane was still there, the support beams for the supplies that were loaded and unloaded were still there, and he recognized the panel of glass he could see from the ceiling; it was cracked in the corner from where he had dared Joey to get on the roof and stomp on one of the panels but not break the glass. He had meant it as a prank and when the glass had broken they had been quick to make sure he got off the roof okay, but now he was thanking himself for his own childish stupidity, feeling relieved beyond belief at the fact that he at least had an  _idea_ of where Yami actually  _was_. "There's supposed to be supplies in there, for the ships that make a rest there…"

"They probably cleared it out to hold him there," Rebecca supplied, shrugging dismissively.

He nodded in response and then his eyes widened in determination. "Seto"—the brunet shot him a look that Yugi readily ignored—"use your firewall to get into the security camera base. Pegasus and the others probably turned them off to do this, but you can probably use a code to turn them back on."

For a moment he didn't move and then he finally moved to pull his laptop out and start it up, starting up the firewall which greeted him sassily—Yugi smirked at this while Rebecca giggled—and then rapidly did as he commanded it to, speaking to him in the meantime while using satellites to pick up the cameras' codes. For a long ten minutes there was nothing and then suddenly there was an image.

Seto clicked on it, enlarging it, staring in surprise as he saw that Yami was sitting up a little straighter, watching the two of them even as his mouth foamed slightly and Pegasus forced some water into his mouth. The red-eyed teen choked and spat it all over the floor while Arkana said something that none of them could hear.

"And the volume?"

"The cameras do not have audio recording," his firewall responded with a bite.

"Hmm."

Yami watched the two of them as they wandered off and went back to doing whatever it was they were doing; Yugi choked when he saw that Pegasus was watching a cartoon rabbit, drinking red wine and laughing in delight. He said something to Arkana who rolled his eyes in response, and the red-eyed teen turned his head away, looking down at himself for a moment before twisting and wiggling in his chains.

Both Pegasus and Arkana barked something which they guessed was to make him stop and Yami obliged after another try before tipping his head up towards the ceiling, his eyes rolling up in the back of his head for a split second before he started looking around again, his expression one of pure annoyance.

"They haven't fed him anything," Seto muttered under his breath.

"How do you know that?" Yugi questioned, frowning.

He pointed at the scowl and the twist in Yami's lips, zooming some to look at the dull flicker of his eyes as he regarded his hostage area and then settled back for staring at the two idiots holding him there. "The shortness in his temper, the way his mouth is curved down like that, and the look in his eyes. He's hungry and they aren't feeding him."

Yugi felt something akin to jealousy that Seto knew him so well but then shook it off. Of course he knew him! They were cousins, after all. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself. That was one of the most retarded moments he had had in a long time.

* * *

Yugi was pretty much the only one completely awake when Yami finally started to do anything again for hours later; the other two were practically asleep in their seats on his couch and lounge chair, and Yugi was somewhat surprised by the fact that the brunet had been the first to settle as he had. But Yugi was awake and watching as Yami tipped his head back rather suddenly and his muscles contorted in his neck violently as if he were choking before he tipped his chin back down; something gleamed and caught the light the smallest fraction of a second, the object held tightly between Yami's teeth, the red-eyed teen ducking his head as far as he could in his position, shrugging his shoulders upwards and moving to push the item in his mouth to touch the padlock, tipping it onto its side.

"What the hell is he doing?" the smaller teen mumbled, not meaning to speak out loud but waking Seto regardless; he flinched when the brunet jerked to his side suddenly, so quiet and fast that it made his skin crawl in alarm. Both of them watched as Yami held still, keeping the padlock as it was, before finally pulling back, looking up with slightly widened eyes.

Yugi watched, mystified, as that object in Yami's mouth was completely gone again.

What the fuck was that?

"What the hell was that in his mouth?" Pegasus demanded, narrowing his eye.

"What the fuck are you talking about? He doesn't  _have_ anything in his mouth."

"He does. I saw him with something in his mouth."

Arkana rolled his eyes and then went over and pulled Yami's jaw open, peering into his mouth before turning back. "I don't know how drunk you are, but he does not have anything in his mouth. You're seeing things."

He shoved Yami's face away gruffly and then turned and walked away again.

Yami's dark eyes trailed after him while Pegasus looked him over and then finally turned back to his program while Yami turned his head up towards the ceiling and then went through that spasm again, his Adam's apple bobbing and his mouth opening and closing several times almost like a baby bird accepting a worm from its mother.

The long, sharp thing came back out from between his lips and his dark eyes studied the other two while his head ducked to touch the tip of the item to the lock, his teeth moving in his mouth, the muscles in his jaw jumping as he watched the other two through his lashes without a single pause in movement.

"What the fuck  _is_ that?" Rebecca asked, confused.

Seto shook his head. Yugi followed his lead.

They had no answers.

* * *

He could swear something was hissing at him and he knew he was meant to be asleep. They had injected him with a sedative to do so, but it had done nothing to dull his mind or senses, the hissing taking most of the priority and his thoughts racing; half the time he thought he could see shadows moving across the walls, draping and dragging and sometimes almost seeming to  _dance_ , but then he was relatively sure that it was his imagination and nothing more, his imagination playing tricks on him as he had figured it would with the way that he had provoked the Puzzle like that.

"You're two fucking morons," Yami snarled when Seto's firewall showed the new video-feed being emailed to the ambassador. "He doesn't care and he will do  _nothing_ because of that. Do you not understand what being  _disowned_ means? If he comes here, it is for the Puzzle and not for me. You needed only to ransom the Puzzle and leave me out of it."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, the irises gleaming and catching some kind of light around the edges, dancing like flames around his pupils and leaving both of them frozen in place, staring in shock; there wasn't a light source aside from the computer screen but that wasn't enough to do  _that_ to his eyes.

"And if he does come it's not for what you think. You're delusional, Pegasus. You don't have any other blackmail material than this, than if he says no and you end up killing me. And let's be real, _shall_  we? That hardly counts as blackmail. You have the video of him throwing me down the stairs. I mean, the fact that he responded to your threats at all should make you suspicious."

His eyes flickered and shot off towards something off screen, gaze growing wide and startled but clear recognition making his entire body freeze; Yugi thought that, for the briefest of seconds, he saw something dark reach out and touch him, a simple caress of his skin that was enough to make his head sag forward and his eyes closed, almost as if it had drained the energy out of him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	23. The Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Abuse, some Season 0 Yami, moments of slight insanity, nightmares, mention of death, Puzzle's magic is a little darker and double-edged than expected.  
> SO sorry for the late update. Things got a little crazy plus there was writer's block and the holidays and all that and it was seriously crazy. ANYWAYS, hopefully the longer update makes up for it? Aside from that, the next update SHOULD be as scheduled on Wednesday.  
> Oh, and yes, Atem (as in the pharaoh, not Yami) is SO OOC it's not even funny but it's for a reason.

Chapter XXIII: The Bond

"Well, you're taking this very well. Calm and…stuff," Yugi muttered, looking at his wrist and then at Yami who glanced over with his head tilted, red eyes curious as they bore into his skin.

"I don't exactly have the  _luxury_ of freaking out, Atem," Yami snorted, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, leaning forward and staring at him through his long lashes; he still looked like Yugi, sitting on those steps and kicking his legs, blue-violet eyes shining as he watched him. "If I lose that, I'll be  _officially_ fucked up the ass."

The other male tilted his head in acknowledgment but didn't bother to speak, instead watching him lazily; he swallowed hard at the gleam that covered those vibrant eyes. Unnatural and cold, the perfect match for the bricks surrounding them. The blue was watery and glowing around his pupils, as if he had something lingering under the ring of color like lights beneath a pool, shimmering and glistening and  _changing_.

"I promise I'll freak out about this some other time," he mumbled.

"My first form of real entertainment is going to be my look-alike descendant freaking out about me," he chuckled, shaking his head. "The irony of that…"

Yami narrowed his eyes but didn't look away, somewhat obsessed with the idea of seeing the pharaoh versus the shell of Yugi that he had taken on; he was still half-curious about this but mostly just excited at the thought of his little mask slipping as it had when he had touched him. He hadn't gotten to see the tanned skin and purple-flecked red eyes again, but the idea of it was something addicting and refused to leave him along altogether.

His mind recognized him as Yugi but his heart defiantly pointed out that it was Atem; there was a cold emptiness to the other despite the shell that he had taken on and it was killing him. That beautiful defiance that normally lingered in those unique eyes had been replaced with a strange hollowness that made his skin crawl and the glow around his pupils was haunted—he bit back a snicker at the idea—and cruel, mocking him with something he couldn't really describe.

His heart ached.

He wanted Yugi.

So much that it was growing pathetic.

He closed his eyes for a moment but he could feel the other's presence burning beneath his skin, the spirit's form etched into his mind like some kind of punishment.

"Make it dramatic. I like a good show," the other stated, making him peer at him through his lashes, studying the raised brow that was both condescending and curious; was he punishing him?

Was it because he was using the Puzzle like this?

Or maybe Atem knew what he  _planned_ to do with the fucking hunk of metal.

"Now you're pushing it."

"You mean you  _weren't_ offering?"

"You're quickly becoming insufferable," he hissed, feeling something inside of him crack and break, maybe mutating or just dissolving altogether.

"Cute. You're using vocabulary on me."

That break spread.

"This sass sounds far too familiar," he breathed, rasping as pain flooded his system for a brief second; he studied the other boy, swallowing hard and biting back the impulse to let out a weak sob of a noise.

The other male's lips quirked, a cruel gleam appearing in his eyes for a split second, punishing him mercilessly with laughter that Yami wished he could snuff; the Puzzle was lashing out and Atem was the one playing the part of the puppet for him.

"You're cute when you're slow," Atem teased, laughing and shaking his head, eyes glistening for a moment.

"Narcissist," he spat coldly, hissing out a breath and glaring.

His heart was breaking and the stupid bastard was the source of it…

"Damn straight. You don't get better than  _this_."

Yami bit back a snarl at the mocking tone to his voice, clenching his jaw; was he calling this bullshit the easier part?

"You know,  _Atem_ ," Yugi's voice drawled, low and curious, playful and dangerous, making his skin crawl with familiarity and the chill of ice. "Yugi  _knows_ where you are."

Was he playing or was he actually helping?

"Then surely Seto knows as well."

"I would assume so."

"You mean you don't  _know_?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes and staring, searching the other's gaze and clenching his jaw for a second.

"Even the Puzzle is not  _omnipresent_ ," Atem snarled softly.

"Then how do you know that?"

He stayed quiet for a long moment and leaned back on his palms, tilting his head up to glance at the darkness that made up the area above them, that wide abyss of pure black that scared and delighted the teenager; finally his head tipped towards him slowly, blue-violet eyes giving way to bright red with swirling specks of purple that made his head spin for a moment. "He's connected to the Puzzle."

Yami felt a small piece of himself mend in the momentary reprieve, the sight of Atem instead of Yugi helping soothe some kind of wound that tormented and oozed like an infection.

Maybe his heart was bleeding…

* * *

Yugi wasn't really sure why his chest started hurting while watching aside from the fact that he was scared and worried and felt sick to his stomach, but now that he was seeing Yami still completely passed out and not at all responding to anything around him despite his captors having poked and prodded at his shoulders a couple of times, his chest was seriously starting to hurt.

It was like someone had just stuck a live coal inside of it and the bones were being baked and corroded and something inside of his heart had started to bleed, all of it feeding the fire that was burning there.

He sat next to Seto, staring at the screen and trying to make the movement of rubbing at his skin, scratching at the spot just above his heart, as inconspicuous as possible by leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his arms folded upwards, bunching his body up for the most part and feeling the skin under his shirt twitch and burn and bleed…

* * *

"I need his darkness to feed mine," Yami muttered, closing his eyes and tilting his head. "His darkness will provoke and sustain mine, make it stronger so that I don't have to worry about losing it at any rate."

"You have no idea what you're doing," Atem spat coldly.

"I do not need you reminding me of just how pathetically slight my knowledge of the Puzzle is," he snapped. "What I need is your help to do this."

The pharaoh remained silent for a long minute. "You will not be the only affected by the darkness."

"You are connected to the Puzzle. Of course you'll be drawn into it as well."

The spirit stared at him and Yami could tell that something else was involved altogether, those purple-specked red eyes flashing and changing, widening and growing blue-violet as he took Yugi's form again.

"Do you really insist on doing this? The Puzzle  _will_ protect you regardless—"

"It doesn't matter that it protects me. I need…the power. I need…to be able to do what I already know has to happen."

Atem was silent for a long time before walking around him, peering over the edge of the stairs, Yami following suit and feeling sick when he saw them all there, lying in their little air mattresses, the TV turned off and each of them fast asleep.

He tilted his head and the spirit murmured, "You wish to mutilate his mind, very well. You've already scratched his subconscious. Will breaking it into a reality."

"Will it?"

"Ask the Puzzle to do your bidding. His mind will be no longer by the end of the night." He paused. "Or…at least not the part that he would need to make it out of this."

"Good. Then I suppose it's time to play."

"Yes."

* * *

The boy entered his dream as a mist that slowly took form in ribbons of black that spread outwards and fanned the flames, curiously curled around the heat that stroked the air and seemed to smother it with a chill that he had never felt before. The billowing smoke disappeared almost instantaneously, the embers gone from the air, the light of the flames sated and everything cast in dull black.

He stood in front of him, eyes like chips of bloodied glass that glowed violently like the flames that had once been there, disappearing completely suddenly into bright white, the edges of his form bleeding and rippling, moving like some kind of wind was pushing upwards and contorting it all.

A form appeared on its forehead, gleaming like a diamond, taking on first a violent white hue that darkened and turned bright golden, blazing.

An eye…

* * *

"You invoked a power darker and more dangerous than you could ever imagine," the spirit snarled softly, the teen glancing at him for a single moment before smiling cruelly in response.

"Yes, I invoked it. And now it's worming its way through me like a fucking virus, making my blood as black as death," he hissed, eyes gleaming coldly. "Survival at the price of my sanity. A trade."

Atem stood frozen for a second and then curled his lip back. "You do not care?"

Yami turned away immediately, gazing at the floor for a single second before looking around slowly. "No," he spat slowly, narrowing his eyes and glancing at the spirit from the corner, the cover of his long lashes helping to hide some of the hatred lingering there. "Yugi is watching me now. I know he is. And soon he'll watch me destroy them. Losing my sanity is going to be  _nothing_ in comparison to losing him."

The former pharaoh stared for a long minute and then closed his eyes, looking away and glancing over at the sleeping bodies. "You don't have to lose yourself to the darkness. There's a way of sustaining the shadows."

"Does it involve blood?" he mumbled carelessly, rolling his eyes.

"No. But…it would involve Yugi."

Yami stopped short and looked at him curiously for a moment. "Yugi?"

Atem stayed silent for a moment, sighing and looking up at the darkness of the Puzzle that held them both captive for the moment. "Yes, Yugi."

"What would I be condemning him to?" he spat, glaring. "What would I be giving the Puzzle? His life, his heart, his blood? His  _soul_?"

"None of the above. If you can…keep him in your life, keep him safe and healthy, continue your relationship, then the Puzzle will remain stable."

Yami felt his eyes grow wide, stomach twisting violently at the thought. "Yugi…"

Atem nodded and looked away. "But, you should know that should you fail him, your punishment will be far greater than what you're suffering now." For a moment neither of them spoke or moved, glancing away from each other unnecessarily before their eyes locked again, flaring and burning, glistening like cruel fire beneath peaks of bleeding ice.

"What does Yugi have to do with the Puzzle?" Yami snarled, narrowing his eyes.

"He has nothing to do with it." The spirit stayed silent for a moment and then ground his teeth together violently. "He has to do with you."

"…How very helpful."

"I cannot tell you everything!" he spat coldly. "If I were to do that, how pathetic an existence you would lead."

"…What will the Puzzle do should he ever be…harmed…?"

The shell turned away, glanced towards the camera for a moment, and then slowly turned back, watching with cold eyes, studying and seeming to pick at his mind violently like teeth. The pupils bled for a second, spreading into the blue and then overpowering the violet, stringing out into the whites like veins, little rives of black that made his skin crawl before it suddenly stopped and—with a single blink—returned to normal.

"Your mind will deteriorate," Atem answered quietly, coldly, eyes sharp as knives as they bore into his, "slowly but surely. Your heart would blacken, your very existence would become a nightmare."

"That's already going to happen," Yami snarled. "That changes  _nothing_. It  _explains_ nothing."

"Careful,  _Atem_ ," the spirit sneered, "you're pushing a little too hard."

The teenager went still for a single second, slowly clenching his jaw and nodding curtly for him to continue speaking, turning his attention away completely for a splintered moment that seemed too long and harsh, dragged out and dangerous, to truly exist.

"I cannot say too much. But I will say that if you were to harm Yugi yourself, I can guarantee you would suffer an endless eternity of pain, something that no one could ever take away no matter the effort." He paused, went silent for a long minute, making Yami slowly drag his eyes towards him once more. "That being said, if you could keep him in your life, safe and healthy and in love with you, you would never have question the Puzzle's loyalty to either of you."

Red eyes narrowed. "You seem to think that I question it  _now_."

"You should. If only slightly. You do not play dangerous games without repercussions."

He fell silent for a minute and Atem took up the honors of speaking again, moving forward to reach out and grab his face again, the ice of his grasp making Yami's skin crawl violently, his entire body fighting back a violent shiver; Yugi's image melted away, blurred and cracked and bled, disappearing altogether suddenly like chips of broken glass and ice. He didn't know whether he should have been relieved that it was no longer the shell speaking to him or startled that the pharaoh was now glaring into his eyes, his grip tight and unyielding and seeming to promise the breaking of his jaw.

"You have bonded with the Puzzle. The moment you pressed into Arkana's subconscious was the moment you destroyed yourself for survival," he hissed, eyes gleaming and glowing for a split second before they bled with darkness once more, showing images in the pupils that made Yami jerk backwards, scared and shocked out of his mind. "Did you see them? The bodies? The spilled blood? Beautiful, isn't it?"

The teen couldn't respond, entire body rigid as his breath rasped weakly through his lungs and left him feeling winded for a split second.

"They were all killed to make that beautiful little Item around your neck. The very thing you bound yourself to like an imbecile," he laughed, the teen fighting back a cry at the sight of his reflection in the darkness of his pupils. "Bodies and blood and darkness all bound together to make up an artifact, a trinket, a little fucking  _Item_ to protect Egypt and its people, its bearer. It has protected you since the day you completed it, since the day you were  _exposed_ to it, yet it never  _took_  from you."

Yami searched his eyes, trying to find something besides the darkness, desperate for anything, but found nothing.

"Do you realize the damage you have just presented yourself with?" he snarled softly, looking him over slowly, cruelly. "If you are even slightly weakened, that damn thing is going to destroy you. If you can remain consistent—happy, pathetically numb—then the fucking thing can't do it. It can't take payment if there is no opening to seep into your being and steal it from you."

"…You…" Yami bared his teeth, snarling quietly and stepping back once. "You're saying that I actually  _have_ to have Yugi…"

"Unless you wish to die, then yes."

"…I'm not going to chain him to me like some kind of dog," he spat. "I refuse."

"Then I suppose you'll enjoy the feeling of your mind being destroyed."

"I will  _not_ become my father," Yami hissed coldly. "I will not force Yugi to exist in my life to save myself. I will not force another person to be condemned to me…"

"You're a fool. You've always been one," Atem spat. "The shadows will destroy you. Yugi is the only—"

"Then let him choose me," he snarled. "Let him make a choice to be with me."

"That will never  _happen_!" the spirit hissed, grabbing him by the shirt for a moment and snarling loudly. "You know damn well that it will never happen. You have but one choice and that requires tying him to you forcefully—"

"I will not bleed him," Yami spat, resisting the urge to try to shove him away. "I will not cut his skin and slather his blood across this stupid Item. I refuse. No one deserves that kind of punishment."

Atem stared at him for a long minute, releasing him and stepped back, clenching his jaw. "You sicken me," he finally breathed out. "The very sight of you, your entire existence—it makes my entire being ache and bleed…"

"I won't do to Yugi what was done to you. I won't do it."

"You have the chance to actually save yourself and you wish to throw it aside?"

"Taking a life for my own is not the way I would wish to exist."

Atem shook his head slowly and closed his eyes, almost as if mourning him already, but when he went to speak, the pharaoh raised his chin and stared at him defiantly. "Then you should make good of a sacrifice, brat," he snarled, "and look at all the blood you have just waiting for the taking."

Yami stared at him for a moment.

"Make sure to really soak your hands with that of the one with the Eye," he chuckled softly. "Make sure it laps at your skin, over your bones, soaks through your entire being, let it become part of you. I'm sure that you'll find the experience as beautiful as you would having Yugi as yours forever."

"…The Eye?"

Atem snickered, tilting his head and looking at him closely. "I should tell you that the Puzzle  _loves_ the blood of those close to its bearer," he sneered. "Soul mates, family, the  _pet_ , anything you love, it will caress with greedy hands and covet for eternity…"

He shook his head, confused. "What does that even—?"

"Pay  _attention_ , you stupid child," the pharaoh snarled. "Think, you pathetic little boy."

Yami bristled but didn't speak for a moment. "I am not going to kill my family for—"

"You won't have to," he snapped brusquely. "You should learn to think before you speak."

" _Atem_ —"

He hissed out a ragged breath from lungs, the sensation of his mouth burning like fire and tasting of blood making him cringe as he drew enough strength to slowly pull his eyelids up to gaze around the room. It was too dark to be anywhere near morning and he hated the feeling of not knowing the exact time but he hardly had the strength to argue; he needed a plan…

But mostly he thought maybe he needed to know about the sacrifice.

He shivered and glanced around, saw a shadow leap and move against the wall in the corner of his eyes; his eyes zeroed in on the sleeping forms slowly, feeling a slight twitch of his stomach, acids churning for a split second.

"Will Yugi be kept safe?" he hissed into the darkness. "If I do this, will he be kept safe?"

For a second he was staring at nothingness and then he felt him, materializing at his shoulder, a chill that made his skin crawl violently, ice in his veins as he turned his attention to the transparent image of Yugi who watched him for a long moment and then smiled widely.

"So you do have an ounce of self-preservation inside of you."

"Will he be kept safe or not?"

"Yes," Atem spat. "He will always be safe. It matters not if you bind him to the Puzzle as well. It matters only that you give the Item  _blood_. Blood is the essence of life, the creation of the darkness inside of every little human. The Puzzle requires blood, sacrifice. Yugi will be kept safe if you do it correctly."

"How hard will it be?"

"Not hard. You just have to be careful…to get each and every one of them. For each one missed, something will befall a member of the family or your precious little… _aibou_ ," the spirit stated, voice faltering on the last word, eyes flickering towards him and narrowing sharply when he realized that Yami had definitely caught the slight slip. "The point is that you must pay attention to each and every person here and make sure that they are all here. All it takes is one of them escaping and you will find those close to you losing their lives rather quickly."

"How do I know that Yugi will be kept safe?"

Atem stayed silent for a moment and then glanced at the camera and back towards him. "Accept him into your life or desert him altogether. No in between. The Puzzle can protect him if he is part of your life. You desert him altogether and he is free of any threat that may exist for you. But you should make sure to choose  _wisely_ , Yami," he hissed, smirking. "It's not safe to play inconsistencies with magic. Especially not the double-sided ones."

* * *

Yugi twitched and scrambled in his sleep, breathing hard in a rasp that was loud enough to make Seto glance over in slight concern if only because he worried that if the boy was harmed, it would devastate his cousin so fully that he would never recover.

"Yami," he whimpered in distress, shifting under his blanket again and hissing as he fell silent once more.

The brunet narrowed his eyes and turned back to the monitor; his red-eyed cousin still had his head down but his eyes were open halfway and if he was honest with himself, he thought he could see them gleaming in the darkness, slivers of red cut by his long lashes but burning in the darkness.

* * *

"The Puzzle does nothing without payment," Atem stated quietly, staring at him and studying the way that he steadily ignored him. "This form hurts, doesn't it?"

"Like an open wound," Yami snarled so softly that he almost couldn't hear himself. "But I can handle it."

The spirit chuckled and shook his head. "I have no doubt about that. If I may say so, you have the strength of the gods."

Yami ignored him for a moment but couldn't fight back the urge to look at him, fighting off a shiver at the gaze that burned into his. They stared at each other for a moment and then looked away slowly, both refusing to share a second glance.

"You should see how much it hurts Yugi."

"What?" Yami spat, turning his head slowly. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Atem snickered coldly. "Did you really think that you were the only one that the Puzzle is messing with? You should learn to use your brain a little more often, Yami," he hissed, eyes gleaming. "He's getting dreams and hallucinations…of you."

Yami bared his teeth. "You said that the Puzzle wouldn't harm him—"

"Yes. As soon as you make the sacrifice, his mind will be completely free of the Puzzle's influence." He paused. "However, you should probably know that should he remain in your life, odds are that the Puzzle will sink its claws into him again. The gods know that little trinket would never allow for a potential piece of entertainment to remain free forever."

"So no matter what happens, I need to stay away from him."

Atem tilted his head. "Staying away from him…That's a curious little thought, isn't it?" he hissed. "You're not strong enough to do that and your heart will never mend without him there. You'll break and splinter without even the slightest touch of the Puzzle's influence. I find it tragically beautiful how stupid and weak and yet powerful and brilliant a soul you are."

"You said—"

"You are a fool," he spat, laughing before glaring coldly. "You think that you can stay away from him? No. That will never happen. You and he…there _is_  no escaping the bond that exists between you already. If only you had been so stupid as to listen to yourself the many times you said you shouldn't go back. It wouldn't exist so powerfully now."

Yami shivered.

"Did you feel that?" the spirit chuckled, "That's your heart quivering. You know why it does that? Because you're away from him. You're unstable and broken without him. Don't you want to be stable and complete, Yami?"

"Fuck you," he rasped.

"Scared of the truth, Yami?"

* * *

There were two of them and at first Yugi thought it was simply his eyes playing games with him, giving him the sight of Yami and what he guessed was Atem from the internet article, but when he got closer he realized both of them were the red-eyed teen.

One of them stood a little straighter, with his head tipped higher, red eyes darker, and the other looked slightly defeated, gaze cast on his with a melancholy gleam that made his skin crawl. He looked between them; no outward differences aside from the gleaming eyes in their sockets.

"Yami?"

Both of them stared blankly at him but only one of them made his heart skip a little in fear.

"Oh gods…"

* * *

He could himself breaking in half, some kind of sensation like he was leaving his body and something else was coiling into his mind and drenching his being, bleeding into him; something else was inside of him now. He could feel it even though he vaguely tried to fight it but knew he was losing just by how cold he was beginning to feel.

Half of him was next to Atem, standing off to the side, observing his body, a shell that he felt sick to his stomach merely glancing at; the other half was being infected—literally  _infiltrated_ with a cold darkness that was rapidly burning its way through his veins.

The disconnection in his head was so strange and disgusting but at the same time, it was oddly euphoric and he hated that…

"Don't be so against it," Atem said quietly, eyes flashing.

Yami looked over, eyes wide as the spirit moved towards him and purred softly in the back of his throat, stopping in front of the teenager. "It'll be just as easy as the night you nearly drown the boy in that bucket of ice water. Quick and easy."

He bared his teeth. "I didn't do that."

"No, you're right. The Puzzle did. Because you wanted it to."

He squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed at his hair.

* * *

The brunet turned his head and regarded the small boy on the couch, startled when he saw him wide awake now, staring off into the darkness of the room before sitting up and glancing at him dismissively. The teen got into the hallway but didn't make it to the bathroom and Seto listened to him retching, the sound too close for comfort and seeming to echo miserably for a few minutes.

* * *

"It's beautiful, right?" Atem purred. "The chaos the Puzzle creates in one's mind. The power it possesses to completely destroy someone."

Yami ignored him.

"Ignoring me does nothing for you, child."

* * *

"Fucking hell," Seto muttered while Rebecca stirred awake and then recoiled at the smell and retching that continued loudly; both of them swapped looks, the brunet a little disgusted while the blonde was horrified.

"That's going to be a bitch getting out of the carpet," Yugi griped as he wandered off into the bathroom and turned on the light, recoiling slightly at his reflection before spinning around and turning back, shaking slightly.

He had to be hallucinating.

Because he was staring at Yami in the mirror.

* * *

"Do you not wonder?"

Yami ground his teeth together. "No."

"Is it easier not to think about it?"

"…Yes."

* * *

The red-eyed teen moved only when he did, mimicking him exactly and making him want to vomit again; the glass looked foggy and weak, with small bits of black around the edges, and for a second he was almost tempted to reach out and touch the reflective surface, feeling sick to his stomach, but recoiled at the thought.

He narrowed his eyes and the other boy mirrored him exactly; his reflection was Yami.

Fucking hell.

His reflection.

Was Yami.

Yugi lurched forward and doubled over the sink, vomiting again and grabbing at the counter with a grip that left his knuckles white but felt too weak for him to really think it was sufficient enough to hold him up.

When he glanced up in the mirror, eyes red as blood with pupils as dark as death stared back at him steadily, but when he leaned forward slightly, he could see something in the darkness.

He jerked backwards and the reflection followed suit, Yugi trembling and quickly turning the knob to the faucet to make cold water spill out immediately.

Blood and bodies…

Yugi groaned in the back of his throat, trying to make the image leave his mind.

* * *

"Just a little longer,  _Atem_ ," he snickered. "And then you'll be free to move around and cause chaos yourself."

Yami glanced at him slowly, studying him for a long minute.

"Arkana's walls will fall completely and you'll be able to manipulate his darkness to fuel yours for as long as you can retain control of the Puzzle." The spirit paused and Yami fought back a tremble, heart weakly shivering in his chest. "Don't worry so much, dear one. You want to survive, to win, right?"

He closed his eyes and tilted his head, not responding to the hand that cupped his cheek for a split second.

"Resting inside the Puzzle until the entire situation is completely stable again is the only way you'll remain alive."

"You're channeling Yugi," he hissed. "Tell me he's okay."

He stayed quiet for a moment. "He's fine. Physically. A little shaken mentally. Perhaps a little…strained emotionally?" he muttered, sounding almost as if he tasted something that wasn't quite familiar to him. "He misses you, I know that much. And the nightmares are starting to scare him. Especially waking up and falling asleep to them again."

"What are they about?"

Atem didn't hesitate. "You killing yourself."

"Hmm."

"I believe you slit your throat in the last one? Or maybe that was just something I made up," the pharaoh mused. "Either way, he vomited all over the floor. From what I can tell, he won't talk to your cousin and he's too tired to stay awake."

Yami shook his head slightly.

"Now do you realize how strongly you two are connected to each other?"

The teen burst out laughing and opened his eyes into slits, regarding the shocked expression with pure amusement. "You say that as if it isn't because of you taking his form like this."

Atem bristled and narrowed his eyes, snarling, "You're a fool."

Yami snorted. "And you're starting to sound like a broken record."

* * *

He found himself on the floor of the bathroom, the tiles cold and leaving his skin tingling as he opened his eyes again and tried to pull himself into a sitting position only to fail miserably and feel his body instead trying to curl up on its side.

Everything felt shaky and twitchy, his body felt itchy, like his blood was poisonous in his veins, beneath his skin, bubbling and pushing and begging him to scratch until his skin was open and it was free to soak the floor.

But he was so tired that he couldn't move.

His limbs were heavy.

His eyelids refused to open all the way.

His blood was definitely growing a little thicker.

And his head was growing fuzzy and strange, weighted by light all at once.

And he felt like he knew the sensation but he didn't recognize from where it came.

* * *

"Give or take another minute," Atem purred next to his ear, Yami ignoring him in favor of trying to reject the euphoric sensation that made his blood scream in his veins; he was…either growing stronger or the Puzzle was finally starting to release some of its hold on him.

That fragmented sensation had grown tenfold but at the same time he was starting to feel like that foreign chill that had been in his body was warming slowly but surely.

Yami turned to him slowly, found that while he had been standing next to him a moment before, he was now wandering towards Arkana and Pegasus who slept blissfully on their little air mattresses.

"Is he really coming here?"

Atem stopped short and looked over at him with a puzzled expression, narrowing his— _Yugi's_ —eyes and tilting his— _Yugi's_ —head slowly.

"Depends on who you mean."

Yami stayed quiet for a second, wondering if he really wanted the answer, if he was truly desperate enough to grasp at it.

"My father."

The spirit stared curiously before his eyes gleamed. "I don't know."

"Then tell me something you do know," Yami spat, growing frustrated and feeling something bristle and surge through him like ice before it warmed and grew hot like fire; he shivered, head snapping around to regard his body where the Puzzle was gleaming the slightest bit.

"I know that you should mind yourself, boy," the pharaoh snarled, rolling his eyes. "You're pushing again."

The teen glanced over and blinked before feeling his heart shiver and skip and then  _bleed_ …

* * *

Yugi woke on the couch, shocked out of his mind when for the most fractured of seconds he saw Yami peering at him in place of his cousin who immediately looked over at the screen of the laptop as if something had just whispered in his ear to do so. The small teen struggled to unclench the muscles that had knotted themselves together in his body, pain radiating through him for a second as he peered at the computer screen.

Yami was sitting upright, glancing around as if he didn't know what the hell was going on or something had just touched him and Yugi flinched, head reeling painfully at the movement, when he thought he saw something moving beside the red-eyed teen. He swallowed hard, breathing a little strained, and blinked several times before closing his eyes for a second and drawing in a long breath that chilled his lungs.

What the hell was going on?

He'd never hallucinated before in his life and that pain in his limbs was so foreign and strange and he couldn't shake it off because it  _lingered_ beneath his skin…

He missed it when Yami slipped out of his restraints and pulled his legs up into the chair, gripping the chains and slowly lowering them to the ground before leaping over them, glancing around and watching as he flexed his hands out, seeming to enjoy the way the muscles rippled beneath his flesh, coiling over his bones for a moment.

"What the fuck is he doing?" Seto snapped, frustrated, his voice drawing Rebecca's attention away from her concern for Yugi in order to look at the screen where Yami had started to wander away from the camera, glancing back and forth several times before looking up at something that was almost too high up for the camera to get in its range. It looked like…a hook?

Yugi squinted and shivered, feeling cold all over, fingers feeling almost numb, and scooted forward slightly to see what Yami was actually staring at; the red-eyed teen glanced around once, moving away from whatever had caught his attention, and wandered a few steps before turning around again.

"Use the Puzzle," Atem offered, smirking widely. "You could use the Puzzle and it'll give you the extra strength you need to get up there."

Yami ignored him. He had always been pretty good at jumping when he younger. He hadn't done gymnastics or anything, but he knew how to leap a few good feet in the air hen he really pushed himself.

He didn't need the Puzzle just to get to that stupid crane.

The red-eyed teen glanced at the sleeping forms on the mattresses, hoping that they would somehow stay asleep through it if he made some kind of noise, and the spirit made a hissing noise like a cat for a brief second.

"You know, if you think about it, the Puzzle might just do it. But you should know that it won't work on Peggy over there," he whispered, sounding almost as if he were conspiring with him, "but he's a heavy sleeper anyways, so odds are, he won't be too much of an issue."

Yami closed his eyes for a second, breathing in a deep breath, and started forward, pacing a couple of steps before turning around again and starting to move further away from the crane; two feet. He needed two feet's worth of distance before he sprang and then he would get the stupid hook no problem.

When he had first come to Japan, Bakura had wanted to see who could jump the highest, something that had always made Yami nervous because he hated actually having to leap because it reminded him of being falling into that little trap hole in survival camp and being forced to struggle and finally push himself into leaping out. When his silver-haired cousin had pressured him into it, the red-eyed teen had finally given in and leaped as high as he could for them. He'd gotten about eight feet and had just barely managed to keep from falling on his face when he landed awkwardly and twisted his ankle.

Now he was wondering vaguely if the Puzzle had been what had launched him that high because he knew it had to have been what had done it at the survival camp because he had been a pretty weak jumper before that incident…

But he also knew enough from that incident to realize how he should do it and what was the best way and exactly which form was better to throw himself off the ground with, how to land, and a bunch of the other crap because the counselors had  _officially_ decided that after his little "accident"—it was  _not_ a fucking accident; he knew that without even thinking about it—that they would show them all what to do in case a situation like that arose again.

Yami paced a few more steps, getting used to moving his legs for a second before they felt a little weak as if he were still a little numb from the sedative they had given him or the feel of the cold numbness the Puzzle had brought him with their little…union. He ran the two feet, crouched with his feet shoulder-width apart, hips flexed at thirty degrees, knees bent sixty, ankles flexed twenty-five, and lifting his toes up and then down with his balance on the balls of his feet. He pushed up with his legs and sprang, feet rolling forward from his heels to his toes and exhaling immediately, generating just enough strength to the movement that he caught the hook and dangled violently, swaying and feeling sick to his stomach with the sensation.

Yami breathed hard and struggled with his grip for a second; goddamn that metal was so  _cold_ it was amazing. He clenched his eyes shut and swore he heard Atem laughing at him in amusement but didn't bother to check, instead waiting for his body to stop moving and his sense of balance to come back some.

The good thing about being so short was that he actually knew his core, knew how to get his balance again, had the knowledge to keep on his feet when he was in a fight and someone tried to knock him down. He wasn't sure if he could actively compare the two situations but he didn't really care enough to test that theory anyways, instead focusing on his breathing and waiting.

"Is that a glitch or his shadow?" Rebecca asked, pointing suddenly to something that made Yugi freeze and feel sick to his stomach, fighting off a shaky heave that left him feeling exhausted.

Seto stared at the object she was pointing at and snorted, tapping the screen at something else entirely. "That's his shadow so that's a glitch."  
Yugi swallowed hard, wondering if it was just him that saw it.

"Guys…?"

Both of them glanced over, Rebecca blinking in surprise while Seto narrowed his eyes in frustration at the shaky quality that had taken residence in his voice.

"Does, um…What…what does that glitch look like to you?"

"Are you fucking serious?" the brunet spat. "It looks like a goddamned glitch."

Rebecca frowned and nodded a little. "It's…just a glitch Yugi."

The smaller teen wanted to smack them both but wondered if they couldn't see it.

He shivered.

"It's a fucking glitch. It looks like a glitch," Seto snapped, rolling his eyes and staring at his cousin who was still frozen in place and dangling.

That was a glitch, okay.

So that was a fucking glitch.

But that  _glitch_ looked suspiciously like him.

He closed his eyes; maybe he was just hallucinating again…

But…Rebecca had to see the similarities, right? She had to see them in order to ask if it was Yami's shadow…right?

"He's wasting his energy," Seto snarled in annoyance as Yugi and Rebecca turned their focus back to the screen; the camera had moved to give them more of a view of what was going on, giving them the conclusion that he was grasping the hook of a crane from up above with a thick chain that was slightly rusted but definitely nowhere near broken.

Yami only moved when he knew that he wasn't going to be swinging anymore, hands feeling strange and tired but not to the point that he was ready to release it at any rate; he lifted his right hand and reached up to grasp at the chain links above it, holding on tightly and shifting slightly to follow it up with his left. He groaned softly; he'd never been good with the rope climbing at the camp, but he'd been  _fuck awesome_ with the rock walls. The chain shook slightly with his weight but didn't move in the slightest as far as the pulley went; he was starting to wonder what the hell was holding it in place because it shouldn't have been that way.

Maybe they had weighted it down or the pulley had a mechanism in it to keep it like that?

He shifted and pulled himself up again, arms feeling slightly strained; he wasn't sure if it was the Puzzle that was keeping the pain down or if it was just his pure stubborn determination to get this shit done that managed it, but either way he was far from tired enough to stop and even though he was definitely breathing hard, he didn't hurt nearly as much as he had expected. He pulled himself up until he could put his foot in the hook of the crane, glancing down once towards the air mattresses and a somewhat amused Atem who stared up at him with Yugi's face. He paused just long enough for the crane to stop shaking some, drawing in a deep breath and continuing a second later, unwilling to slow completely. If he slowed down, he would lose time and his resolve and he couldn't afford that at all.

The pulley he came up seemed weak when he turned his attention to it and his skin crawled as he considered risking grabbing it, knowing immediately that it would break and fall if he put such weight on it. Instead he kicked his legs out and tucked them in again, pushing his weight into his hips as he normally did when he bracing himself for a hit to his stomach in fights, working hard to keep most of his weight evenly distributed just enough so that he didn't weigh the pulley down completely.

He leaped as quickly as possible, hissing in pain as his ankles strained on impact and he rolled awkwardly, hitting the wall hard enough to make his ears ring but shocked when he found that he had made far less noise than he had originally expected; Atem sat against the railing, legs crossed and leaning back with his hands tightly gripping the metal, watching him with a wide smirk on his face.

"I was starting to think you would never make it up here."

Yami ignored him, rubbing his shoulder where it had taken the impact against the wall, glancing around slowly and blinking as he peered down at his captives; either the Puzzle was protecting him or they were all really heavy sleepers.

"Be careful to mind your step," Atem chuckled, "you know how metal likes to groan."

The teen hissed at him in annoyance but supposed he should have been thankful because, really, he hadn't exactly thought about how much that before he had gotten up there. He pulled himself to his feet after a moment and rubbed his shoulder again, ignoring the ache in his hip and the muscle that strained in his thigh.

Son a bitch.

It was uncomfortable when he balanced his weight like he would have if he were walking along a ledge or across a beam of wood, running and leading with the balls of his feet and setting his heels down at the end of each step. It was awkward to have to consciously make himself do that because it was natural for him when he actually  _was_ testing his balance with beams of wood or slightly raised concrete ledges in parking lots, but now it took effort to remember due to the somewhat wide gap between the railing and the wall.

He stopped at the end of the…walkway? Was that what it was?

"You should make haste," Atem commented coldly behind him, drawing his attention away from the glass of the tiny window and making him glance over, studying him for a moment; the other teen was in those rich Egyptian cloths that the pharaoh wore, white and purple, with the crown of gold across his forehead, the purple of his irises seeming to glow for a split second.

"How many hours until dawn?"

The spirit stayed silent for a moment and then walked around him to peer through the glass, studying the sky that was visible there instead of the pane of glass overhead, turning around and mumbling, "You have about three hours, give or take."

Yami nodded slightly and wandered around him; the glass had been kneaded shut with some kind of welding tool. He could tell that much by the melted metal that had cooled and hardened at the edges of the stupid window.

He glanced down into the darkness, finding nothing of the others who were still fast asleep, and then forced some of the tension out of his body while his eyes gleamed and glistened in the shot of moonlight from the skylight. He cast a lazy glance towards his ancestor who merely watched him and then turned away again, clenching his jaw momentarily; the Puzzle made Atem act out, he supposed. Or Atem was trying to punish him just enough to let him know the dangers of the magic he was invoking.

He wandered down the walkway for a little while and stopped at the other end, glancing around slowly and tilting his head as he thought about the situation and what exactly it was that he should have been doing. He cast another glance towards the corners of the two-cornered walkway and narrowed his eyes to peer through his lashes for a second, concentrating hard as he tried to picture what the warehouse would be used for in the first place.

The cranes said something heavy. The pulleys reinforced the idea.

And the walkway said that they needed the extra height to help unpack something or other from the cranes. So, obviously the cargo that had been dropped here was of some weight…

He tilted his head.

Sea salt.

He had smelled sea salt when he had first woken up here.

He blinked once, turning to Atem for a moment to find his guised as Yugi once more, the smaller form rocking back and forth on his feet with his hands in his pockets and his eyes gleaming coldly with speckles of silver from the moonlight reflected in his gaze.

Obviously they were close to a harbor. They had to be.

Perhaps this was a loading dock?

He didn't really think it mattered much, but he was curious about it…

He turned away again and Atem snickered softly, frustrating him slightly but not enough to look over, blinking as he slowly caught sight of it.

There was a hatch.

To release the stairs to the walkway. They must have folded them up before they caught him; he judged the distance regardless of the fact that he knew he couldn't jump it, an automatic reaction of his mind measuring and working tenfold its normal speed in order to provide him some answers or just record information that he might need later.

He turned on his heel and took of back towards the pulley system, running in that awkward way of leading with the balls of his feet and ignoring the chill his entire body got when he ran straight through Atem.

The Puzzle started to burn through his clothing suddenly and he stopped short, leaning over the railing of the walkway and tilting his head with his ear cocked towards the sleeping forms on the mattresses; none of them stirred and the silence helped to calm him some, allowing him to draw in a deep breath before looking at the chain again. It was too far for him to grab without jumping.

And jumping would be a bad idea.

He knelt down, crouching and glancing around slowly to see if Atem was still there because he suddenly felt oddly alone; the spirit was gone. He supposed he was back in the Puzzle…or maybe he wandered off back into the afterlife? He blinked and wondered where the hell that spirit went when he wasn't with him before shaking it off immediately and grabbing at the railing with his left hand, his right groping at the holes in the metal beneath his feet.

Yami drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes and readying himself, and then threw himself halfway upside down to peer into the darkness only after he was sure he wouldn't be sick from the new angle he was seeing in.

His eyes adjusted weakly to the darkness, making him feel slightly sick; the new direction was disorienting. He looked around, seeing nothing at first and biting his tongue hard to keep from retreating immediately to grasp at the false sense of security that being right-side up granted him.

There was a long metal rod, loose and barely support the bottom of the walkway, definitely something that he could pull out of place, but he couldn't reach it from this point. He clenched his eyes shut and moved slowly to right himself, knowing a head rush was the last thing he needed, blinking his eyes open a few minutes later and slowly beginning to crawl to the side, counting out a pace of seven before leaning through the bars of the railing.

Yami honestly wasn't a fan of heights but he also wasn't afraid of them. He had this strange…mutual respect for them in which he didn't try to scale them and they didn't draw his attention to them immediately unless in dire circumstances.

He wanted to vomit.

It wasn't the heights that actually screwed him over most of the time. It was the idea of the perspective that hit him and the fact that he had to do this as going to make him sick any second now.

His muscles braced under his skin and his mind reeled for a second before he sucked in a large breath, keeping his eyes shut tightly, the chain that held the Puzzle around his neck suddenly growing warm as it glowed slightly, almost as if it were sucking in the moonlight around it to polish its surface. He exhaled a second later, one massive gust of air, as he quickly moved his right hand to grip the edge of the walkway, his grasp awkward and strange, and dropped.

"Oh my god," Rebecca cried, eyes wide and horrified.

"What the fuck is he  _doing_?" Seto hissed, glaring in frustration.

Yugi trembled for a second, feeling a little weak and lightheaded, but didn't comment, instead moving to put his cheek against the armrest, watching and noticing with a sick feeling that the Puzzle was glowing again.

Oh, oh gods, this was not fun.

He barely retained the strength to hold himself there, dangling almost lifelessly, his fingers straining and burning with the pull of his weight, his breathing awkward and weak and just altogether winded from that flip of perspective.

But he knew it was there.

Right in front of him…

Yami licked his lips as he opened his eyes and tried to fight off the impulse to gag, running his tongue over the roof of his mouth a few times as he had found himself normally doing in difficult situations, an effort to soothe himself that sometimes worked but ultimately failed now. Then again, he supposed he didn't really have  _time_ for comfort.

He kicked his legs out, his fingers nearly buckling with the sensation and his entire arm clenching up, his spine tensing at the feeling and his entire body going still again. The red-eyed teen squeezed his eyes shut again, reaching his left hand up slowly and grabbing at the metal next to his right, holding himself up and breathing harshly.

"Make haste," Atem growled, the words cold and frustrated but somehow enough to spur him into firming his resolve once more, allowing his left hand to release the metal of the floor walkway again so that his body dangled and twitched and his right arm burned violently. He waited a long minute, body going still despite the small tremor of ache and discomfort that came through his arm with the force of his weight.

He twisted and his shoulder slammed into the edge of the metal, aching with the new impact that now furthered the sting of the hit he had taken when he had first gotten up there. But his fingers were touching the pole now and he could grasp it firmly, his only real comfort with the entire situation, something that made his head spin with relief before it fell away again completely as he pulled it out; the weight of it stunned him and he almost dropped it before he managed to twist his body back to the face the walkway again, his left arm feeling tired from the grasp he was asserting on the little rod.

His arm trembled again, violent quakes where his muscles rippled and he could almost feel himself following its lead before it stilled again; he closed his eyes again and focused on breathing instead, trying to calm himself somewhat before he really put himself to the test. The strain was really tearing at him, but it wasn't enough to stop him from lifting his left arm and shakily putting the pole onto the walkway, his entire body trembling with the effort. He breathed hard and pushed the slender cylinder towards the wall as far as it could possibly go, dragging his left hand back towards the edge, a few inches away from his right, struggling to keep his grip.

He wasn't about to die here.

The Puzzle was gleaming again, catching light and reflecting it in small parts, burning like a flame against the wall, the eye in the center glowing like a brand against the wall; Yugi felt sick to his stomach, trying to sit up some and failing miserably as Yami shakily drew himself up, his arms trembling and his legs feeling like dead weight, shoulder quaking as he folded his elbows against the side of the metal and stretched his right arm out to grasp further…

He dropped back drastically. His mouth opened in a cry of pure pain but no sound came out and his left arm felt almost as if it would tear from his shoulder socket if he didn't let go and his body screamed in pain when he slammed into the metal, the air leaving his lungs immediately. The Puzzle slammed into his abdomen a few times, all sharp edges and cold metal that was oddly comforting despite the force of each impact. He drew in a tight breath and let it burn in his lungs for a second before trying to draw in another and feeling sick to his stomach when his shoulder flared violently. He hissed and threw his right arm up with extreme difficulty, his bones weighing like lead, and tried to make his fingers grasp.

The red-eyed teen breathed hard, clenching his jaw until it ached and he was starting to think that he might just break it with the force of the simple movement; he kicked his legs out and pulled his right up to press the toes of his boots against the bottom of the walkway. He couldn't keep that position for long, and he knew that, which was why he tried to work as quickly as possible while he still had the strength to do it.

Yami pulled his knee up until it rammed into the side of the small bite of curved steel that made up the side of the walkway; he was starting to feel sick again when he bent his elbows and stretched his right arm out again, left arm held still while his left leg dangled lifelessly in the air beneath him with his movements.

He took in a deep breath that chilled him enough that he nearly shivered and then slowly reached his left hand out to grab again, positioned a little behind his right, dropping the bend of his spine to make his bottom half dangle before kicking the air. He twisted his body wildly with the last of his strength and moved just enough to hook his heel around a bar of railing, dragging his left leg painfully up and over onto the metal, rolling until he hit the wall and laying on his back.

"Impressive," Atem commented, smirking at him when he peered at him through his lashes.

"He's a fucking spider monkey," Rebecca exclaimed, shaking her hand and swallowing hard as she took in the rapid breaths the boy took in violently, only visible due to the rise and fall of the Puzzle resting on his torso.

Yugi ignored whatever Seto had to say about it, though he knew it had something to do with questioning the purpose of the little rod of metal Yami had pulled out of there; personally he was still shaken by the damn "glitch" that was standing near the red-eyed teen who was still lying on his back and refusing to look around anywhere.

Finally the other boy slowly sat up, his muscles jumping and trembling, rolling over onto his hands and knees and pressing his forehead against the cold metal to help get some of the strained heat in his body cooled somewhat. The Puzzle was starting to burn against his skin and Atem was laughing from somewhere at his side, saying something along the lines of "You should get up and start moving. Night doesn't last forever, Yami."

He only shifted when the blood had come back to his head completely and he had gotten rid of some of the feverish sensation that had been creeping across his skin like fire the entire time he had been trying to get back up there.

But he moved too soon and the pain that exploded in his head, across his neck, and shoulders made him immediately seize up again, hissing in pain before clenching his jaw again until his teeth ached. His hands were starting to ache from the way he was still holding the metal, head spinning painfully as he sat up slowly and turned his head to look at the pulley.

"Guess survival camp did you some good, yes?"

"Let's just see how long it keeps me ahead, shall we?"

"You have the Puzzle for that."

Yami bristled slightly but shook his head. "Only while Arkana is awake."

"Well, at least you really  _do_ have some kind of restraint."

The teen ignored him and glanced at the skylight for a long minute. "How long do I have?"

"About an hour and a half."

Yami chewed his cheek harshly and got to his feet, snatching the pole and looking at the pulley again.

"Do you even have a plan?"

"I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't," the teen snapped, stepping towards the railing and slowly pressing his foot over the top, pulling himself up and grabbing it tightly with his free hand, only pulling his right foot up after he was completely balanced, awkwardly but effectively balanced. He ran his tongue over his lips to try to calm himself a little, pulling the pole up some and balancing with his body crouched, movements agonizingly slow as he straightened to his full height.

Yugi narrowed his eyes and strained looking at the shadow that existed on the screen because that "glitch" still looked amazingly like him, especially when, for the smallest of seconds, it seemed to turn its head and he swore he saw gleams of blue-violet. He stiffened on the couch but neither Seto nor Rebecca noticed and he at least thanked the gods for that.

Yami slowly lowered his right leg down to hook the toe of his boots against the bottom of the railing, moving to lean towards the pulley chain and starting to slip almost immediately. Atem made a noise in the back of his throat like a snarl or a hiss or maybe a groan of annoyance and Yami slammed his knee upwards, falling backwards as he altered the momentum that would have sent him to the ground; the teen grabbed the top of the railing and steadied himself shakily, glancing over at the air mattresses and narrowing his eyes for a moment disdainfully before nearly losing his balance when the Puzzle flared against his skin.

He barely managed to keep his grip, hissing and glancing at Atem who tilted his head and raised a brow, leaning against the railing and watching him with a small smirk. "Watch yourself,  _Atem_ ," he sneered, smirk widening. "You let yourself slip and the Puzzle is going to take over."

"Shut the fuck up," Yami spat quietly, glancing at the mattresses and back again before huffing softly; he didn't need the stupid spirit reminding him that all it took was a lapse in judgment or his anger to let it seep in again.

He shook it off as easily as he could, trying to stay efficient with his task, reaching for the pulley, higher than the chain, stretching his right arm out with the pole before his balance teetered again and he jerked his right knee up again, falling back to grasp the railing again.

For the briefest second he allowed himself to be frustrated but shook it off again immediately, clenching his jaw tightly and shifting the pole to his left hand instead, movements coming out more balanced as he continued to straighten to his full height. His limbs were starting to feel tired, to the point that the ache that had settled in them was almost unnoticeable now.

He leaned forward and strained to reach with the pole out and managed to hook the tip through the ringlet that held the pulley up in the beam that supported part of the ceiling; he thanked the gods that it was so easy to push the stupid rod through the all the way, his balance teetering but not enough that it worried him, ignoring his balance in favor of leveling the pole out and slowly forcing his right hand out as well, grabbing both ends and stumbling for a moment.

"Smart boy," Atem commented, sitting next to him on the railing and watching as he jerked his right knee up to fold it completely and tumbled backwards onto the walkway with the pulley came closer, shaking and then slowly settling again a minute later while Yami laid on his back and huffed loudly, closing his eyes tightly.

"Okay, so what's up with his right leg?" Rebecca commented suddenly. "He's using it more than his left."

"He pulled a muscle," Yugi found himself snapping before he could stop himself, making both of them look at him before the blonde's face turned bright red and she ducked her head away while Seto curled his lip back and glared in annoyance for a brief moment before turning back to where his cousin had slowly rolled over onto his side.

"You should be aware that you have roughly an hour."

Yami hissed and kicked himself into a roll, stumbling tiredly to his feet and looking at the pulley before shakily walking towards the end of the walkway, knowing without having to think about it that the hatch was right beneath his feet.

He didn't move for a long time, standing and looking down at his sleeping captors and then back towards the pulley again.

"You should say hello to Yugi and the others," Atem commented suddenly. "He's feeling really weak right now."

Yami couldn't help it when his head snapped towards the camera, eyes narrowing as he bit out, "What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing. The Puzzle did it. Stole his energy to give to you."

"Why him?"

"Why  _not_? You know  _damn well_ why."

"I don't," Yami snapped, turning his head and narrowing his eyes in frustration before immediately snuffing the emotion when the Puzzle flared against his abdomen violently for a split second.

"He knows we're watching him," Rebecca commented, looking sick.

"He probably saw the little red dot at some point," Seto snorted.

Yugi wanted to puke but he couldn't take his eyes off the red-eyed teen for even a second; no, Yami was not looking at the camera because he had seen that stupid little fucking dot as it recorded.

"You said he would be safe," the teen snarled, looking at the pulley and then where he knew the hatch was lying beneath his feet; he moved towards the chain, leaning entirely against the railing and snatching the thick links in his fingers, pulling and then shaking them hard.

"And he will be. If you don't pull an inconsistency with your choice of abandoning him or keeping him in your life," Atem snorted. "But he's the one that's closest to you, isn't he? Think."

Yami snorted and shook his head before stepping onto the railing again, reaching for the pole with his right leg posed to spin him backwards again if he needed it, biting his cheek before jerking the pole back and forth, shoving as hard as he could and nearly toppling over. Heat shot through his being and left him falling backwards, body buckling and suddenly rolling as the crane's hook came flying straight towards him; for a second he couldn't entirely tell what the hell was going on before he sprang to his feet to catch the hook, the chains shaking and tugging him forward slightly, his stomach and the Puzzle slamming into the metal bars and leaving his eyes nearly popping out of his head with the force of the impact.

"Son of a bitch," he snarled under his breath.

"Yes, why yes, you are," Atem commented, Yami's head snapping towards him in frustration for a second before he turned away again immediately and starting towards the end of the walkway as soon as he could make his body respond again, movements slow and weighted as he rested the crane against the railing and leaned over the edge, crouched on his hands and knees and looking the hook over and peering down again; this…would be a hell of a lot easier than the other things that he knew he was going to be doing in a few minutes.

Yami glanced around slowly, cautiously, narrowing his eyes at the camera and then turning his attention back towards where they were fast asleep, shaking his head and then leaning entirely over the edge, folding himself against the metal as if he were a part of it and thanking the gods he was flexible, his entire body flattened against it.

He studied the latch for a moment and then finally went to grab the hook, reaching back down again and folding himself against the metal as tightly as he could, moving to slide the tip of the crane around the latch firmly, pulling back a few seconds later and straightening again.

There were a bunch of other cranes scattered around the room, all of them push off towards the sides, but this one had been left in the middle for some reason and he couldn't just leave it like this; someone would notice and Arkana being fueled by his darkness like this would be anything but complacent with even the crane's disappearance.

He wasn't stupid enough to assume that the pole he had just spent so much time grabbing wouldn't be useful again, balancing on the railing as he had before and managing to pull it out again, grabbing the chain for a moment; it was thick enough that it wouldn't fall out of place at any point.

The red-eyed teen glanced at Atem and then rushed off, minding himself immediately to run as he would have walking on a ledge; otherwise he would make far too much noise and he couldn't afford that…

He got to the end of the walkway and glanced around slowly, peering into the darkness for a few long minutes before tilting his head; there were metal barrels of something standing upright along the walls.

Fuel maybe?

Oil?

Gas?

Either way, he was going to have fun with that later; he already knew that much. But now wasn't the time to mess with it, so he found himself simply pulling one of the massive barrels out, the liquid sloshing and making his skin crawl as he struggled slightly with the weight of it all, and pulled it to the railing, breathing hard before glancing over at the sleeping forms and then jumping straight up onto the metal cylinder. The thud was a little harsh but didn't travel well in the room; he wasn't sure why that was, but he wasn't about to question it either, instead looking at the other beams that made up support for the ceiling and the cranes; there was a maze of them, all connected like a labyrinth of pulleys that could easily be led along by the axles that they were fixated in with.

He grabbed the one closest to him and pulled himself up, disappearing completely from the sight of the camera's night vision.

"What just happened?" Yugi demanded, voice coming out sharp but fear shifting down his spine like cold water and leaving him trembling for a split second.

"I just have to adjust the angle, hold on," Seto hissed.

The CEO began typing quickly, Yugi and Rebecca watching coordinates appear and disappear in rapid succession before suddenly the camera was zooming in on the red-eyed teen who had moved off to one side of the room and was leaned over one of the other pulleys. The rod he had been carrying was inside the little ringlet, dragging it along now slowly towards the spot where the first had once been hanging. When the thick chain settled in place, Yami straightened again and then slowly crossed over to the first he had bothered with in the center of the room.

He crouched down, bending over the edge, and jiggled it in its place to change the direction so that he could move it aside to hide it away as had been done with the rest of the cranes. But it was starting to require a lot more strength than Yami actually thought he had, requiring a different position, and he groaned under his breath while Atem snickered, the red-eyed teen flipping and grasping the contours of the metal tightly until he thought his hand was going to snap out of place.

But, unlike the first time he had flipped, this time he only waited a few minutes before kicking the pulley violently even as the rod in his hand nearly refused to stay in his grip, threatening to fall out at any moment; the mechanism slowly moved back further and then turned on its side as he wanted, giving him just enough relief to allow him a minute to just breathe before pulling himself up again, catching the rod in his armpit and making the pull upwards even harder before he managed to get up on the beam again.

Yami settled there for a long minute, plopped on his belly with his arms and legs dangling over the sides and the Puzzle and rod tucked under his chin, eyes opened and staring at that "glitch" which seemed to be moving slightly as if pacing a little.

He didn't have time to rest; the red-eyed teen drew his arms in first and then his left leg and slowly his right, breathing hard before stumbling to his feet and then walking tired across, using the rod to pull the crane further on before leaving it tucked into the wall where it was easily hidden.

He let out a breath and Atem walked through him, Yami hissing at the feel of his blood freezing in his veins for a split second, and both of them slowly wandered off towards the barrel he had used as a step, the teen moving slowly and wincing at the pain in his leg.

"You should get used to pain. If you're not careful, you're going to be in for loads of it."

Yami scoffed and limped after him.

* * *

"Now don't do anything stupid, got it?" the teacher stated immediately as he walked out of the room; Tristan and Duke both swapped looks of boredom and the brunet made sure to study him for a second even as the teal-eyed boy turned away to lean forward and look out the door.

"How long do you think he'll be gone?"

"A few minutes. Maybe ten," Tristan commented, blinking and furrowing his brows; if Duke was going to leave the room, things were going to be so much easier but then again, if he took those phones with him everywhere… "Why?"

"I think I'm going to go get my stuff. That way I can get out of here as fast as possible."

"Oh, well, what floor is your locker?"

"This one. The other half of the school."

Tristan snorted. "Walk fast."

"Bullshit. I'll walk as slow as I please," Duke scoffed, getting up and heading out the door; the brunet wasn't really sure but he had a feeling like the teal-eyed boy was trying to do something along the lines of…giving him a view of his ass maybe? Tristan shuddered and turned away because Duke seemed pretty homophobic when it came down to it, but not as crazily as Joey was when it came to Yugi and Yami.

He figured that had more to do with the fact that he had been under the assumption that Yugi was straight the entire time that he had known him, so it seemed like a stab in the back, but at the same time, he kind of had to question that idea because, really, they hadn't been that great of friends to begin with. Joey liked to make Yugi feel inferior and Yugi  _let_  him…

Tristan wasn't as stupid as Ushio and Joey when it came to the other boy; Yugi was smart as could be and liked to be a little ass sometimes, but that was more because he could than anything else. As far as being defenseless, Yugi was far from it. Tristan had become his friend through Joey but they had a mutual respect between them that the other two relationships lacked pretty badly. Ushio liked to play top dog and pretend that Yugi was too small to ever be a threat and Joey just liked to pick on people.

Then again, Joey did have a harsh life growing up.

But Tristan didn't think that justified it.

He watched the door for a minute, made sure that Duke wasn't going to turn around all of the sudden and come back, and then got up and moved over to check the pockets of the school jacket he had left behind in his seat. Both of the phones were identical and he wasn't so cocky that he thought he could break through a password without some kind of software help.

And he didn't have that here at school because that would be illegal and he wasn't about to get the school in trouble for that; besides that, why waste his time making it obvious what he was doing when he could easily be fucked up the ass if Duke came back in the middle of him doing this?

He had one of those photographic memories, which definitely worked in his favor now, because he could put the jacket in the exact same position as it had been before he touched it, no traces of his prodding left behind at all.

Tristan flipped it over, feeling the weight and grinning; Duke actually  _had_ left them both there with him instead of taking them with him to his locker. At first he had been suspicious that it was what the other boy was going to actually be doing instead of just getting his things.

He dug into the pockets, making sure not to touch the glass of the screen of either of them, and pulled them both out, staring at them and groaning under his breath; both of them were fucking identical. So what the fuck was he supposed to do now?

It took him a long minute to figure out what was different between them, chewing his cheek and narrowing his eyes as he struggled to find a way to tell them apart, glancing at the door constantly before finally looking down again. One of the phones felt slightly heavier when he lifted the bottom of the jacket and let it fall back silently, blinking as he started to touch at both of them, feeling the outline of the phone through the fabric.

One of them had something stuck into the charger's port…

He slid the phone upwards, pushing it with his fingers through the fabric, making sure that he didn't touch the glass just because if Duke came in there suddenly, there was no guarantee that he would be able to get rid of the smear of his fingerprints before he spotted it. He slid it all the way out, glancing up at the door, and then turned back, blinking in surprise.

Wireless headphones.

He looked at the logo for a long minute, trying to piece together if it was a Bluetooth adapter because if it was, he was seriously screwed, but then he remembered that the company in question  _only_ made earphones and speakers.

So this was the phone he played around on.

Tristan pushed it back down into the pocket and pulled the other phone out, grabbing it and digging into his own jacket to bring out the cell he had bought the day before, the same model and brand and  _probably_ the same service provider considering it was only sold to that company. He glanced at the door then checked for anything that would be mismatched on the phones, and pocketed Duke's, slipping the new one into the discarded jacket's pocket and folded the jacket back as it had been before, slipping into his seat immediately and pulling his own cell out to pretend to be playing Angry Birds until Duke came back.

The boy in question wandered back into class a minute and a half later, smirking as he dropped his backpack and plopped down in his seat with a snickered, "Some guys are fighting in the hallway. He was trying to break them up and one of them smacked him across the face."

Tristan forced himself to snicker, not at all amused by the story now that he was thinking about how he was going to pick apart every single little bit of information on the phone, shaking his head and putting his cell on the desktop. "I'm not surprised."

"You know, I think you guys have more actual fights than the schools in America do," the other commented with a slight smirk. "Normally we have stupid things happen with druggies but you guys just have everyone and their brothers getting into fights."

"We're teens," the brunet snorted as if it justified it all. "We do the stupid shit because we get bored."

"No shit," Duke drawled, smirking wider and shaking his head. "Not to be racist or anything, but you Japanese are fucking crazy."

Tristan snickered. "Yeah, we normally are, it's an Asian thing," he snorted, rolling his eyes. He had never been one to claim someone was racist anyways and that statement was funnier than it could ever be offensive so he hardly gave a fuck in the first place. "Just like Americans are the douches."

Duke burst out laughing and nodded. "We are, we are," he agreed with a smirk.

Tristan glanced at his phone as it buzzed with a text, blinking in surprise at the sight of Yugi's name on the screen; the small boy hadn't been at school so he had hardly expected some kind of contact from him…

 _I want everything you can get on Duke, and I want it now,_  the text said.

Tristan glanced at Duke and then back before texting,  _After I get home_.

 _Great. Give it to Bakura and Malik_.

Bakura and Malik?

Tristan fought back a wince and tucked his phone away.

* * *

"Why aren't we just going to get him now? Yugi knows where he is and—"

Seto rolled his eyes at the blonde who glared at him in response, snapping, "We know where the fuck he is! So why are we waiting?"

The blue-violet-eyed teen spun on her, snarling, "Why? Are you fucking serious? Because they have fucking guns, you idiot! We go in there and first of all, we'll probably end up with our heads blown off or he will. You don't do that shit."

Both of them stared at him in shock for a second, swapped looks, and then turned away immediately again.

"Police don't do that in hostage situations for that  _exact reason_!" he spat, reaching up and grabbing at his head; there was something cold lingering in his veins and something was burning in his lungs. Something was coiling in his mind, darkening it and leaving his skin crawling.

He'd gotten some of his energy back since he had gotten a small nap a while after Yami had fallen back asleep, but he was still tired and something about him seemed a little estranged even to him…

* * *

Duke was actually pretty smart about the passwords that he used for the phone. It took an hour just for the software to break through the firewall; at some point he had seen a bunny dancing across the screen before bursting into chunks of red like a popped balloon and then the files were all being downloaded—videos, texts, emails, phone records, recordings, game files, everything that existed on the phone, even recovering the deleted files.

It took a total of four hours for it to finally finish and Tristan was about to lose his mind when it said it had completed the task. Two million, five hundred thousand and eight hundred files.

He sorted through them for another two hours, deleting game files and music and anything that wasn't related to Yami.

And he found himself vomiting when he realized exactly what they were going to do to Yami now that his father really  _was_ coming.

* * *

"You can shit on yourself for all I care," Arkana snapped, turning away again.

Pegasus wrinkled his nose. "How appealing," he drawled in disgust.

" _Isn't_  it?" Yami asked, grinning. "Now I'm sure a pig like Arkana can live with excursions all around but come on, Pegasus, you're not low class like him."

The Duel Monsters creator had to catch his accomplice by the arms, laughter in his eyes despite the former magician struggling in his grip; he should just set up videos of these two arguing and make a serious of it. People liked stupid things like that anyways.

The teen's lips curled up into a wide smirk, eyes glittering with brutal amusement. "Oh, look, the little farm pig just evolved into a  _boar_.  _Congratulations_ , Pegasus, you Swinub just turned into a Piloswine."

"I'll  _kill_  him," Arkana snarled.

"No, Arkana, you won't. He's our ticket to millions—"

" _Millions_?" Yami echoed in disbelief. "Please tell me you're fucking  _joking_. I'm worth  _trillions_. If you want to  _settle_  for something, at least hit billions. Millions, my  _ass_."

"Oh, Jesus," Pegasus snickered.

"Oh, kill me now," Arkana spat.

"Okay!" the teen cried, eyes wide with excitement. "Just untie me and—"

"Remind me again why the  _fuck_  we didn't just duct tape his mouth shut," the magician explained.

"Because it's rude hospitality and Pegasus is  _obviously_  higher class than you, sweet cheeks."

Yami hadn't been arguing a bathroom break for the last twenty minutes now and Pegasus was laughing the entire time but Arkana was just growing more angry; once or twice he had shocked him with the collar around his neck, high voltages that should have knocked him out but only left him laughing and snarling at him in annoyance.

It was late; he wanted to get the fuck out there before it was too dark.

"All right, all right," Pegasus stated, snapping his fingers and pointing to one of his accomplices, the red-eyed teen watching him; he nearly burst out laughing simply because it was so ironic.

He shook his head when they told him not to do anything funny and Croquet—was that the butler-looking guy's name? Yami thought he knew him from somewhere—unlocked his chains.

"We're not even going to  _cuff_  him?" Arkana snarled in disbelief.

"He could get out of his little rope restraints. You know he can get out of cuffs."

"Bullshit. That was rope and cuffs are metal."

Pegasus rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel better, Arkana, go ahead and cuff him."

"Good."

Yami didn't object when he tightened them far too much, to the point that they could have drawn blood if he wiggled his hands and tried to get out of them, but he did snap at him when he pushed him forward a step in an attempt to throw him off balance. He only wore the cuffs because he knew that it would help to make what he was about to do more believable.

"He knows how to get out of those, doesn't he?" Rebecca asked curiously, furrowing her brows.

Both Seto and Yugi stopped short and glanced at her.

"How did you know that?" the brunet demanded a little coldly.

She gestured vaguely to Yugi. "I've always thought he was a kink," she admitted, making Seto's eyebrows shoot up and Yugi blush furiously, eyes wide in shock; she glanced at him and winked. "No that being a kink is a bad thing."

"Fucking Christ," Seto hissed, shaking his head.

"What? I want him to know he has  _options_ if Yami doesn't make it through."

"He'll make it," Yugi snapped immediately, making both of them glance at him even as he ignored them and watched the red-eyed teen on the screen.

"You should make sure to make this message a good one," Atem growled behind him, reaching up and running a tanned hand through his hair as if he were some kind of pet; Yami glanced at him and then turned his attention towards the camera for a split second while the others commented on something or other.

But he had to admit that Atem made a good point with that statement. He had honestly forgotten about the fact that most security cameras—as far as he knew—didn't have audio recording.

He tipped his head up, staring at the camera for a moment, and then mouthed, "Gas station" as clearly as he could, glancing at the others around him and turning back to repeat it again.

Seto blinked in confusion and glanced at Rebecca who gawked slightly while Yugi furrowed his brows.

"You can pause and rewind that, right? Slow it down or something?" Yugi commented slowly; he knew Yami didn't have much time to play with the camera because it would have gained too much attention, so he couldn't blame him for mouthing it so quickly, but he kind of wished he could.

"Yeah, give me a minute."

Yami glanced at Atem and then at the others, looking over his shoulder at the cuffs that were digging into his skin, and then turned his attention to the camera again for a split second; he immediately turned his attention to Arkana when he thought he was looking and both of them shared a little sneer while the spirit snickered at his shoulder.

"So cute how you guys are arguing, don't you think?"

Yami snorted and turned away again, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and waiting; Pegasus grabbed him by the elbow and led him along, snapping at Arkana that he wasn't going to do anything stupid because he knew they would blow his brains out if he did.

The teen cast a last look at the camera and then allowed them to lead him along; he supposed the good thing about the walk that they had to take was that the road was gravelly and some of the areas that  _should_ have had grass had eroded with the wind and were officially covered in stones and dirt. And no one was around to see anything as far as them walking went.

So no one would see the cuffs and Yami actually had a  _reason_ for what he was about to do in the next three seconds.

He stepped forward, tripping himself and falling slightly, right foot hitting the dirt at a sharp twist and his left foot following up immediately. He forced himself to let out a yelp of a noise, eyes wide as he looked at them and saw that they were all either smirking or snickering—or, in Arkana's case, glaring in pure disdainful satisfaction—while he awkwardly stared at them.

"I don't know if you knew this," he snapped, bristling, "but I can't exactly just get up. I normally use my arms when I land like this. And I obviously can't do that now."

"This idiot," Arkana sneered, grabbing his arm and jerking him to his feet violently; Yami didn't have to think about it to know that he had been lifted off the ground for a split second.

Fucking asshole.

Didn't he know that short fuckers like him  _loved_ to have their feet  _on_ the goddamned ground?

"God, just undo the cuffs. We don't have time for him to go falling over. Besides, if we're not fucking careful, he'll end up pissing or shitting himself in the meantime," Croquet muttered, giving him a slightly sympathetic grimace that Yami wanted to tear off his face. "And I for one make no plans to clean that should it happen."

"You get paid to do your job, Croquet," Pegasus snapped.

"You don't pay me enough for that, Master Pegasus," he retorted.

"Yeah, so, um, cuffs go bye-bye, right?" Yami cut in immediately; he couldn't have them arguing over this all so that their darkness flared up and completely threw his off to the point that he couldn't manage it and did something stupid.

He had a sacrifice to do. He couldn't risk doing something stupid.

Not if Yugi was at stake too…

If it had been only his life on the line, he wouldn't have given one flying fuck, honestly, because he did stupid shit all the time and the Puzzle was his artifact and maybe, just maybe, he would have been able to do something to change it so completely that it wouldn't immediately affect him…

"All right, all right," Arkana snarled, reaching into his pocket and providing the key which released Yami's wrists; he pushed him away as if expecting him to turn around and lash out and the teen stumbled but caught his footing again, rubbing at his wrists as if they hurt so horribly that he couldn't quite live with the pain of it and had to alleviate it.

"Gas station," the firewall announced loudly, a sassy little response that came when Seto and the other two were guessing at the words; Yami had formed them clearly enough but he had moved so fast in his effort to keep from being caught that it had been hard to tell what his statement had been.

"You know, this wouldn't be happening if you were straight," Rebecca snapped suddenly, huffing at the fact that "gemstone" had most certainly not been the word that Yami had been saying.

Yugi blushed and Seto snorted but both of them stared at her as if she had lost her mind for a second or two until finally the smaller boy mumbled, "I think you meant to say that to Yami."

Seto shook his head and sighed loudly. "Obviously he wants us to go to the gas station or else he wouldn't have told us where they were taking him," he commented, rolling his eyes when both of them turned to him with startled expressions, both taking a second to remember what it was that he was talking about.

"So we go to the gas station," Rebecca announced.

"No, we wait until they get back," Seto stated. "We wait and then we go after we're sure that they're back. Otherwise we have no fucking idea what they'll do."

"You think they'll shoot him in a public place?" Rebecca asked skeptically.

"Except it's really  _not_ that public," Yugi argued quietly, biting his lip and chewing his cheek until there was blood coating his tongue. "This dock is in the more…shady part of Domino."

Both of them glanced at him and then turned away again.

Yami snuck off into the bathroom, opening the door and immediately going for the whiteboard; he'd learned a while back that every gas station in Domino was  _required_ to have a whiteboard in the gas stations in case of…well, situations like this.

He scribbled the words in the dark blue marker and then went about hurriedly doing his business and scrambling out again before someone came in after him; he couldn't afford to draw attention and…

He smirked, grabbing the rubber band from the floor and pulling it into his pocket; perfect for this little plan that was forming in his mind. He turned when Pegasus mumbled something and Arkana argued something else, Croquet and his cousin's former worker pretending to do an idle chat from behind one of the racks, talking back and forth about something.

Yami supposed that they weren't completely paying attention to him or they would have said something the moment he had come out; he glanced around immediately, eyes darting around before finally spotting the two items.

Now all he needed was a distraction.

He glanced at the camera in the corner and knew it wasn't working just by the way it didn't move and the way that the fixtures looked rusted and almost like they would pop out of the wall at any second.

He pulled the rubber band out of his pocket and reached into his shoe to pull the stone he had knocked in there, winding the band back as far as he could and holding the little rock in place against it.

After weeks of having been around Bakura and Malik, he definitely knew how to use a rubber band effectively enough to do the job he had planned.

He had to aim for the center, where it wouldn't crash through in only one spot but rather  _all_ of it would fall. Not towards the outside and not the inside either. But rather collapse in on itself. And this stone was  _just_ the right size for the job.

Red eyes narrowed as he pulled the rubber band as tight as he could with the assurance it would destroy the glass but not the band catapulting it. Archery had done him well.

He released and the stone shot forward. The glass cracked and shattered, raining down like glittering shards of ice.

As expected, Pegasus, Arkana and the worker looked at the sudden disturbance, a couple of curses leaving their mouths as he turned around to snatch the two items he was one hundred percent sure he needed.

"What the fuck was that?" Arkana demanded coldly.

"Shit, where the hell did that come from?" Pegasus muttered, eyes wide.

Croquet stared in confusion and Yami blinked a few times as if shocked out of his mind by the entire situation, turning and looking over his shoulder a couple of times before staring at the window and letting out a low, keen wolf whistle.

"Wow. Now that shit was nice."

"You did something, didn't you?" Arkana snarled.

"Oh please, put that shit back in your box, bastard," Yami snapped. "How the  _fuck_ would I have done  _anything_? Maybe it was just some kind of…stray bullet or something."

"Stray bullet," the magician sneered. "Right."

"Okay, so the defensively teen is the one who does everything. That's nice. Really. Thanks. Fucking asshole."

"Kemo, take him back to the bus," Pegasus snapped. "We'll be back in a minute."

Bus? Yami tilted his head but followed the massive broad-shouldered man anyways, staring in confusion before it clicked; they had told the cashier that they were going on a fucking road trip, possibly a tour or something. Maybe it was some kind of…religious or camping experience kind of thing…

"So…bus trips, huh?" Yami commented casually as they started walking.

"Shut up kid."

The red-eyed teen frowned and pursed his lips before glancing over his shoulder. "Some weird shit, that glass was, huh?"

"Fucking hell, shut up."

Yami tilted his head as he turned back. "Well, obviously you're not in the talkative mood. So I'm going to stop trying now—"

He moved away just in time to avoid getting smacked. "I thought I just told you to shut up."

The teen smacked his lips but didn't speak again, glancing over his shoulder at the glass again and smirking widely as he turned back; well, he was pretty sure part of that little perfect aim and the way the glass cracked had to do with the Puzzle but other than that, he didn't really think it mattered too much.

"Okay, let's go," Yugi announced the moment that he saw the bulky man and Yami walk through the door and into the line of the camera again.

"No."

" _What_?" he snapped, glaring before he saw it too; Arkana and Pegasus were missing. Which meant that something had gone wrong. They couldn't go to the gas station yet.

* * *

The message was five words.

"Wait until the last second."

It had no name but Yugi knew it was addressed to him and Seto.

He chewed his cheek and shook his head, frowning before coming back out; the brunet raised a brow from where he was purchasing some Monster drinks.

"Wait until the last second," he mumbled, walking past him and out the door, glancing at the broken glass and smiling a little.

Yami was a destructive little bastard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	24. The Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Abuse, some Season 0 Yami, Puzzle's magic is a little darker and double-edged than expected, violence, blood, death, guns.  
> Okay, so, things did NOT settle down like I was expecting them to until yesterday, actually, but either way, this chapter is longer so let's hope that it both EXPLAINS the things that may or may not have confused you last chapter and shed some light on some other things. Don't hate me for the cliffie :P Anyways, longer chapter, AND we'll be back to our regular schedule of updates on Wednesday again, so yay for that too, right?  
> The chapter ends on a cliffie because if it didn't, the entire thing would be almost three times as long as it is now with all the details and scenes that are coming up next chapter.

Chapter XXIV: The Sacrifice

"So you truly are going to do this sacrifice?" Atem asked slowly, narrowing his eyes and glancing at him through his lashes; Yami blinked a few slow times and then finally looked at him, his neck strained and his stomach aching from not being fed and the medication that he had been injected with.

He didn't know if he was supposed to talk or not, instead looking at him for a long minute and closing his eyes. His stomach flipped. He fought back the urge to vomit, his throat aching already despite the lack of heaving done.

"I set it up last night, didn't I? Isn't that what you were telling me to do before?" he finally hissed out between his teeth, biting back a groan and swallowing hard. By the gods, he thought he was going to be sick.

Atem stared for a long moment. "True enough. Did you get the two items or no?"

Yami dragged his eyes open slowly and glanced around again, vision fuzzy and slightly blurred, the stray moonlight from the glass pane overhead making his head throb for a split second. His throat was starting to scratch; he could taste blood already…

"You said a lighter and matches."

"Yes, I did. You got them then?"

"Yes." The teen swallowed hard and moved his chin to press against his chest, shivering at the weak feeling in his body; it all hurt or felt weighed down to the point that he couldn't really think straight. With Arkana awake, the Puzzle had kept most of his pain away significantly, practically cushioning him from the strain of his muscles that had come with his little game of rearranging things before.

"Good, then you should know that you have four hours until dawn, when they'll all wake up and start to play some games," the spirit murmured, glancing up towards the windows and then to Yami slowly. "Did you know what they plan to do to you?"

"No," he hissed, "and I don't fully give a flying fuck as it is."

"Hmm." Atem stayed quiet for a moment and then purred, "So you have figured out what you're going to do then?"

The teen flexed his jaw, the bones popping and making his ears stuffy; the Puzzle was cold and weighted from the chains around him but beyond that, it was as it should have been, completely like any other necklace, a mere hollow pendant of pure gold.

"I don't see that I have much of a choice in the matter."

"True. Either way, you'll have to kill them if you want to survive this. The only real option you have is whether it will be a ritual you make their deaths into or if it's just a pathetic little you-or-me game of survival, right?"

Yami tilted his head and heaved violently once, his throat aching and straining and blood welling up for a moment; shit it was actually lodged in his throat.

"Hey, relax," Atem cried out when he started to panic slightly, eyes wild as they locked on him; the pharaoh stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. "Relax your throat and then try again, okay? Otherwise you're going to end up seriously fucking yourself over, got it?"

The teen blinked once, swallowing hard, and tried to stop his mind from racing, that slight bite of initial panic slowly starting to ease itself away; the spirit leaned forward, whispering softly in Yugi's voice, "All you have to do is relax your throat. It's not hard. I did it when I was pleasuring you before."

Yami startled slightly, hissing in pure disgust and desperation, wishing Yugi actually  _was_  with him, but found himself relaxing only because of those large blue-violet eyes peering into his. He knew it wasn't something that he should have been so mollified by, considering, but it was working by all means, the pharaoh taking on that teasing tone that the smaller boy always had when he got a little sultry, murmuring, "You know, you're going to need to practice deep-throating sometime. It might help with situations like this."

He could already feel the muscles calming and his breathing came out a little easier even as Atem stared at him and then slowly looked at the camera, growling, "You should start moving already. Four hours and no longer."

Yami heaved and tipped his head up, forcing the long thin needle out and into his teeth, pushing it forward with his tongue and breathing hard for a moment; the pharaoh turned his head with a sharp, "Don't lose that. It's your ticket out of those chains, remember, boy?" and the teen glowered but tightened his grip on it.

Hollow and thin but long to the point that it was frustrating; he'd never had trouble with regurgitating something before. But it was sharp where it was meant to inject its contents into the bloodstream and the edge where he had managed to bite through it and the glass of the syringe in order to swallow it in the first place.

And the way it liked to throw his gag reflex for a run was really starting to grate on his nerves. But as long as he didn't harm himself too much, then he was perfectly fine; besides, he had grown up swallowing and regurgitating things that he shouldn't have been able to.

Number one item being his mother's favorite knife set and the butcher knife at the age of three when he had first been given the Puzzle; even when it hadn't been completed, just exposure to all of the pieces had influenced him darkly enough to draw together the dark fascination of gleaming blades that he liked to have in his mouth. It was honestly one of the simplest things he had ever done in his life, when he was younger and when he had grown older.

He had taught himself to swallow things without the Puzzle's influence after a while, learning a particular way each time to regurgitate the items easily afterwards. He had learned to relax every single muscle in his throat and the involuntary ones in his esophagus, making the process smooth enough that he could do it easily though it normally took a little longer than the needle had.

The needle had, by impulse and muscle memory, taken all of three seconds and been violently inaccurate, lodging itself in his throat and making him vomit until he managed to straighten it out again.

He leaned down with the needle in between his incisors and tipped the lock onto its side, slipping it inside and breathing a little shakily around the piece of hollow metal, swallowing hard and managing to slowly undo the lock with just the right amount of force and movement, the chains loosening almost immediately.

"Let me ask you this now, Yami," Atem stated suddenly as the teen relaxed some, closing his eyes and drawing in a few deep breaths; by the gods, his body ached… The boy raised his head and looked over at him, staring as the pharaoh stepped closer and narrowed his eyes into slits, studying him slowly. "Are you ready to do this? There cannot be hesitation the moment that you start this ritual."

Yami chewed at his cheek but didn't answer, instead throwing his head back to force the needlepoint back down his throat; he'd need it later when he had to unlock it partially after he was completely done setting this up.

Atem hadn't told him that; when they had discussed it, the spirit had said that he had to be sure that he wouldn't back out at the last second, that he had to make sure he made the sacrifice follow something of the original creation of the Puzzle—blood spilled, muscle cut to bone, exposed tendons, fire…

Yami turned his eyes towards the corner of the warehouse, towards where the others slept; he understood the dreams now. Of fire and smoke, blood and screaming and yelling. He had thought it was just nightmares from sleeping with the Puzzle on, but it was a warning.

Just like the cards.

Osiris, Ra, Obelisk, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Doma, Silver Fang…

The six-card spread appeared in his mind slowly, Osiris upwards, Ra down, Obelisk up, the Angel of Silence Doma upwards, Red-Eyes Black Dragon downwards, Silver Fang upwards…

Death, sunlight and power, strength, omen, control and dangerous instincts.

He was pretty sure that the ritual was the prime "omen" that had been predicted, death pronounced by Osiris, the loss of control pronounced by Red-Eyes meaning him to the Puzzle, Ra upside down meaning the loss of power either from himself or Pegasus and his little group, Silver Fang only highlighting the dangers of the Puzzle's powers and how he would have to work with it, Doma only serving to show just how much more this was than mere coincidence.

He wondered if his cousin and Yugi were going to be horrified by what he was going to do, if they were horrified by what was already happening, by the fact that Yami had been drawn into this entire situation.

The only thing was that he didn't think the same boy was really sitting here.

He realized it already; if he went through with this, he probably wouldn't have much support from Seto and Bakura and Malik anymore, especially not if they all saw what he was going to do. And Yugi…he still had yet to choose what he would do with the smaller boy but he doubted that he would be very willing to coexist with him in his life much longer.

And he didn't blame him.

Besides, the fact that he already mourned his loss, and not really that of his own sanity, told him that he had already given up on wanting to try to get past this without the sacrifice that he had already set up with his previous nightly wanderings. He didn't even feel sorry about it anymore.

"Yes," he finally replied, turning his attention to the former Puzzle-bearer who froze with wide eyes, looking startled by the firmness that came with the word. He pulled himself out of the chains, wiggling and pulling himself up awkwardly, grabbing the links and keeping them from falling loudly, stepping out once and feeling his leg nearly buckle.

Atem still looked pretty stunned a few minutes later when he was glancing around and making sure that the others weren't awakening anytime soon; the red eyes narrowed and gleamed like daggers when he turned to the spirit.

"What do I have to do?" Yami asked slowly, feeling his skin crawl when Atem turned his head to stare at him with pupils that seemed to bleed into his irises and then into the veins in his eyes, all consuming for a second before he blinked and it disappeared again.

The pharaoh remained perfectly silent, looking away from him and staring at the Puzzle curiously for a split second before slowly dragging his eyes to Yami's.

"Tell me what I have to do," he finally repeated after a long minute of staring at each other with dark eyes that burned into each other like fire, and all Yami could think about was just how different his voice sounded to him. Dull, steady, but with a slightly fierce undertone that made Atem raise a brow.

"Very well." He paused for a long moment. "You are aware of how to pull a trigger, right?"

"You don't pull it," Yami spat, "you squeeze. Full concentrated force, constant and not at all weak or sudden enough to make your hand jerk or fuck with your aim in any way."

"Forgive me," the spirit hissed angrily, "it is not as if I have ever had any experience with such a weapon."

The red-eyed teen stared at him for a long minute. "So you weren't the one who made me pull that trigger when I was six and our neighbor broke into the house trying to kidnap me?" he asked slowly, smoothly, expression dubious and sharp.

Atem curled his lip back but stayed silent; he had told him to, whispered in his ear through the Puzzle's influence, spoke of the rifle that lay behind his parents' bed, ready for the boy to use to defend himself. He turned away slowly, clenching his jaw as he gave up the appearance of Yugi for his own.

"I'm surprised you remember that," he hissed coldly.

Yami let out a scoff low in his throat. "I remember all of it," he growled, shaking his head slightly and rolling his shoulders, feeling the muscles groan in protest and hearing his bones shifting loudly under his skin.

He remembered all of it vividly. Each and every one of those events were etched in his mind like a hideous mental scar that only showed itself on his worst days.

He remembered making a show of swallowing and regurgitating the knives when he was three, the talent that had his mother sobbing and praying and taking him to a priest for a blessing that had done nothing but kill the man when he had attempted to put his head underwater.

After it happened it was never once mentioned again.

They all—his parents, any of the maids who knew, other relatives—assumed that he didn't remember the sudden aneurysm that had overcome the priest and Yami didn't care enough to think of such a memory in the first place.

Just like he didn't wish to think about how he had stuck his hand on the stove and let the flames caress his skin as if were merely a dog's tongue, harmless and loving.

Or the time that he had taken his father's rifle and shot the neighbor when he broke in when he was six and had  _just_ managed to put the Puzzle together in the first place.

Things had stayed completely normal until survival camp when he was ten.

The Puzzle had burned and blinded anyone who touched it, inflicted nightmares…

But the item had done much more when the boy had pushed him into the snake pit and run; the pit was filled with them, the reptiles all kept there with the cruel little tale about how the campers who didn't listen or weren't behaved and didn't do as they were told were thrown in there for the snakes.

Yami had been shaking and flinching every time they hissed, huddled in a corner of the pit with his back against one wall and fighting off the urge to vomit.

One of the cobras was hissing and practically  _tasting_ him with that forked tongue it possessed, hood flared and mouth opened wide to show off gleaming fangs.

He was too scared to really attempt much more than staying in his corner and trying to make himself smaller, less appetizing…

The only real thought he had was the idea that snakes didn't bite other snakes, something that failed to help him in any way.

It stopped halfway through the strike, recoiling and hissing and appearing almost…scared.

The Puzzle burned against his skin like fire and even in the shade cast by the large walls, he could see the eye reflected on the dirt in front of him; he had lost all of his nerves in that moment, vomiting violently and then sobbing like a baby.

The sensation of something invading his body slowly like something in his bloodstream and the eerie calm that overcame him a few moments later had him completely frozen and unable to move. His mind slowed from where it had been panicking that he had been bitten, thoughts coming to a complete standstill, and then finally it settled and refused to go any further, focused entirely on the task of getting out of the snake pit.

The snakes all hissed and  _writhed_ again, rolling and biting their own tails and generally panicking, and Yami's mind took note even in that weird state it was currently drowning in.

He got out of the pit after ten minutes of the dirt shifting beneath his feet too suddenly for him to truly gain ground and then he was wandering back towards the ramp and that chill in his system slowly faded away, leaving him there to find the boy saying he had fallen in, pretending to put on a big show about how he had slipped and he was so scared and bullshit that both of them knew was far from true.

Yami wished him dead in that instant, glaring at him as the counselors checked to make sure he was okay and then went about herding the others off into their tents, speaking to them about the dangers of being near the pit; the moment they were left alone, the boy sneered that even the snakes didn't want him.

That wasn't anything that surprised him because, honestly, he was already the pariah because of "the Devil's Trinket" around his neck, but it hadn't stopped him from growing angry.

All he was truly aware of was just how cold his body had become and just how much he wanted this boy dead.

But he heard him screaming and struggling, heard the water bubbling up as he tried to push himself out, hands grasping at the bottom of the bucket even as Yami kept his face pressed into the icy liquid, grasping his hair violently…

"Why am I remembering that?" he finally ground out from between his teeth, swinging a glare on the spirit who narrowed his eyes and shook his head slowly. Yami didn't say that it felt as if he had just slipped back into that moment as if reliving it again, but he could see on Atem's face, those sharpened eyes and the way that he tilted his head slowly like a predator, that the spirit understood completely the unspoken part of that question.

But he didn't answer the inquiry, instead turning away and wandering off a few steps, curiously muttering, "How long do you think it will be before they put that little collar around your neck to good use, Yami?" with a look in his direction that said he was so completely amused by the idea that it was disgusting.

"When?" he muttered, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "You mean tomorrow or when they wake up immediately after this little stunt I'm about to pull?"

"Hmm…well, either, honestly," the spirit snorted, smirking. "You should probably take one of those remotes that he has, yes? Maybe both of them?"

"One is inconspicuous, both of them is dangerous."

"Well then, as long as you know that, are you going to take the second one?"

"Yes. I'll deal with the second when I do this damn sacrifice."

Atem purred softly and then turned away with an expression that was almost guilty; Yami pretended he didn't see it though he was relatively sure his eyes hadn't just started playing games with him.

The teen stared at them for a long minute and then turned back to the spirit, eyes narrowed into slits.

"You're wasting time," Atem spat, rolling his eyes in frustration.

"You swear to me that he will not wake up?" he hissed, tipping his head towards the sleeping form.

The spirit stayed quiet for a moment. "If he does you know how to handle it," he finally growled, "but you should be more worried about the one with the thick neck. He's more of a threat  _by far_."

Yami cast an unnerved glance towards Kemo and chewed his cheek; the sacrifice demanded that no blood be shed until all of them could be killed as one. he had four hours until dawn when eh would do so, and he couldn't afford an error.

"What do I do?"

Atem gave him a cold look and gestured to the Puzzle with a roll of his eyes, glancing towards Kemo and tilting his head. "Unless you think you can take him yourself," he chuckled.

His skin crawled at the thought. Fucking  _hell no_.

"You know how to control your darkness. Don't pretend otherwise," Atem hissed. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have stopped yourself from hurting Yugi when he went through your texts."

Yami bristled slightly, stomach twisting and heart aching at the reminder.

"Scared?"

Yami almost didn't answer but finally nodded, unsure of what else to do.

"Good. Embrace it and use it to harness the Puzzle," Atem stated calmly, "unless you really  _do_ think that you can take him."

He wasn't stupid. Kemo was bigger than him in every sense of the word—weight, mass, height. If he wasn't careful, even  _with_  his knowledge of how to take on someone bigger than him, he was going to end up half- _dead_  by the time Kemo was done with him.

Besides, the first time he had ever encountered him had been when he had technically first met Seto and Mokuba when he had originally come to Japan after his dad called Seto up, deeming him the only one acceptable of the family name despite the fact that he didn't consider the brunet's parents as family; he'd apparently "gotten too close" to them when they weren't looking when he had gotten off the plane because the next thing he knew, he was on his back with Kemo pinning him down. Yami had panicked and tried to throw him off but he hadn't been wearing the Puzzle that day and so he couldn't do much but squirm until a six-year-old Mokuba had snapped at him to get off him and yelled at him when he didn't do so immediately, waiting until he was off buying him a soda to laugh his ass off at the red-eyed teen's stunned expression while his brother snickered around introductions. Kemo had been Seto's bodyguard then. And he moved too fast for him…

But add in the Puzzle and maybe he could win this…

No.

There was no  _maybe_.

The Puzzle would protect him, give him what he needed to do it.

What he lacked the Puzzle would make up for him.

But how much would it  _take_?

"You're wasting time and you know he's about to wake up…"

Yami fought back a shiver; how was he supposed to use the damn thing?

"Give in to the fear," Atem purred in his ear, Yugi's voice making him grow cold. "The Puzzle will do the rest."

Logic had always told him to  _never_  side with panic. It was useless and stupid and utterly costly. It was impulsive and wild, violent and dangerous like anger.

"Two minutes,  _Atem_ ," the spirit cooed.

Two minutes…

He cast a glance around, steeling his nerves. The suitcase in the corner held all of the sedatives. They had drugged him earlier but the Puzzle had to have filtered it out of him because he'd woken up two hours before sweating gallons and feeling sick after falling into some kind of haze of memories that slammed into him as nightmares that refused to lessen.

He kicked his shoes off and ran, practically sprinting, for the suitcase; he could hear Kemo starting to wake up…

"One minute…"

The case opened when he undid the locks, hands shaking harshly from the force of adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Only one syringe was full anymore…

He reached for it, slipping it out of the vinyl strap and nearly dropping it before his heart skipped another beat and his blood pounded in his ears.

His eyes focused slowly, fell on the knife that had been sharpened and sheathed…

Fucking hell…

"Ten seconds…"

The Puzzle burned and heated his blood, entire body shaking as he turned around slowly; Kemo was awake now…

Four hours until dawn…

* * *

Yugi woke up, breathing hard with an ache to his lungs and a strained pulsing pain in his temple.

The air was too thick, weighing down on him and only helping to make his head throb more.

Yugi glanced at Seto; the brunet was fast asleep in an uncomfortable position, elbows against his knees, leaning forward near the laptop screen. The smaller teen looked at the scattered empty cans of Monster and turned towards Rebecca; the blonde was passed out, snuggled up in the opposite corner of the couch.

So he was the only one who felt that strange pressure.

He was  _also_  the only one who saw the  _shape_  of that fucking "glitch".

Yugi shook it off and turned the laptop to face him, narrowing his eyes; the "glitch" looked… _different_? Maybe more  _defined_?

But  _definitely_  still like him.

And, when he really looked for it, he  _thought_  he could see Yami… _talking_  to it.

No, not just  _talking_  to it but  _arguing_.

Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, glaring and ignoring it.

In an attempt to rationalize it, he thought maybe Yami was talking to himself.

Maybe he was just so frustrated that he couldn't stop himself so now he was talking to himself, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do; he hadn't spent all that time the night before wandering and doing…whatever it was he had been doing just to not follow through.

So he had to have  _some_  kind of plan…right?

So  _maybe_  he was just trying to  _convince_  himself to actually  _do_  it?

Yugi  _really_  wanted to believe that but he was almost  _one hundred_  percent sure that Yami  _didn't_  talk to himself.

Because if he did, wouldn't he have  _done_  so one of the  _many_  times that they had gotten into a tight spot in arguments or when he shied away from the taller teen saying those three words?

Yami turned his head and Yugi fought the urge to vomit violently.

He was staring straight  _at_  it.

He was opening his mouth.

And he was  _talking_  to it.

Yugi reached up and grabbed his hair, tugging at the long strands and clenching his jaw.

That pressure in the air thickened.

And his head was pounding.

* * *

Yami snuck around the mattresses, feeling sick to his stomach as his panic and adrenaline started to slow and dissipate. His blood wasn't pounding in his ears anymore, slowing drastically as that calm started to replace his panic altogether.

Kemo was standing a few feet away, peering into the darkness for any trace of his escape.

He wasn't a stupid guy; Yami knew that much, and it would have been pathetic if he assumed otherwise.

The calm had claimed every part of him now, and the Puzzle was heating up; his mind felt parasitic, a bite of paranoia passing through him for a long minute. It was lapping at his judgment and eating at his conscience, questions that terrified him but also left him feeling sickly giddy; what if he couldn't stop himself and killed him instead, ruining the entire sacrifice? What if he ended up hurting Yugi through some disgusting means when he did this? What if this sedative didn't even work and that was why he had slept it off so soon both times?

Atem was watching him with dark red eyes and purple specks that glowed around his pupils like demented colored halos, making his dark pupils almost murderous, bottomless and cruel; vaguely he wondered if his own eyes had taken on that quality, but he didn't care enough to ask or draw attention to himself.

Half of him had some kind of idea; he knew it, felt it, but it refused to fully bloom in his mind.

It was still as if his soul was disconnected from his body and every one of his senses, every part of his being, was fractured but together all at once, as if he had somehow grown too much to be contained in his body but all the same, it was still his prison of flesh and bone.

He felt so small but so  _big_  all at once.

He wanted to lose himself in the sensation but his instincts screamed that should he do that, it was all over.

"Careful," Atem hissed as he started forward; that foreign half of him grew slightly vicious, coiling and brushing against him like hot water, small sparks of resentment lighting his veins for a split second.

The foreign emotion stung but felt pleasurable all at once, intense and all consuming before it became manageable again and he could push it away with little to no trouble. He wondered if this was what it felt like to have another in his body, like in movies where you had a demon or ghost or a mental disease with true splits in personality, where one persona would take over when things got to be too much…

Kemo was looking up towards the windows and the walkway, searching while Atem hissed, "Watch yourself" and Yami turned his head towards him; the spirit curled his lips back and Yami felt the other being inside of him shifting and twitching, growing slightly smaller as if scared, startling the teen, skin crawling at the feel of it.

"Come on out, little brat. I won't hurt you if you come back over here willingly," Kemo said suddenly, just soft enough that no one heard him from where they were still fast asleep.

Yam turned back immediately, blinking as he started forward and around the chair; the red-eyed teen followed from a few steps behind, mirroring him. He wasn't fully in control; he realized that immediately when he went to stop but his legs moved to gain ground anyways. Kemo turned around just as he leaped over the back of the chair.

The former bodyguard reacted a second too late, throwing his arms out after he was sent tumbling backwards.

The darkness the Puzzle was influencing knew what it was doing, covering Kemo's mouth when they hit the ground and grunted loudly, muffling the noise completely. Kemo went to throw him off, grabbing at his sides, squeezing hard enough to bruise and make him clench his jaw, but not enough to distract.

The syringe went straight into his pulse point, emptying out just as Kemo tried to throw him off again.

The darkness pulsed inside him, livid with anger, and Yami bit back a flinch, the need to curl in on himself at the sensation of being practically lashed out at resurfacing immediately and making him feel sick.

"Hold your ground, you pathetic child," Atem snarled.

Yami flinched slightly but the darkness was still pulsing with pure hatred and his reaction did nothing to stop it as his hands wrapped around the thick neck and squeezed.

Kemo struggled, squeezing until he thought his insides would flatten from the force, and Yami wondered, still feeling absolutely disconnected and confused, at a loss about it all, how it was he was even choking him this hard.

The Puzzle was granting him far too much strength, even he realized that in this state.

His face was starting to lose color now and it was either the sedative or the force of his grip, but he could see the way his eyes were losing focus…

" _Release him_ ," Atem snarled.

The darkness shifted and pulled back slightly as if flinching, but Yami was still just as small and disconnected as he had been moments before and he had no idea how to force it out of him, only that he knew he needed to get rid of it now before it ruined it all and—

"I said  _release him_ ," the spirit spat, voice growing into a harsh rumble that shook him and jarred the darkness. It scattered suddenly and Yami hissed at the painfully draining sensation as he regained control of his body again, breathing hard as his hands burned, fingers tingling, and he tried to grow used to the feeling of having complete consciousness.

Kemo didn't stir as Yami released him slowly and turned to Atem with a rattled expression, shaking as he breathed in harshly; he hadn't felt like this since the moment that he had  _somehow_  managed to stop himself from drowning the boy in that bucket. The spirit was still studying him, watching with sharp, narrowed eyes that glistened with pure hatred.

He stumbled to his feet, legs feeling slightly numb and tingling almost violently, and slowly straightened to his full height.

"You…you still control the Puzzle…?"

"No," Atem spat. " _Nothing_ controls the Puzzle and its magic. I may be able to  _influence_  but that is by  _no_  means having  _control_."

Yami blinked once and then shivered slightly. "Why…why did it happen like that? I don't understand…"

"Because you saw it  _differently_ than you usually do," Atem growled. "Before now, the Puzzle and its magic was subtle and you didn't think about it being a complete threat as you do now. If not for that, it would have felt more natural. You're afraid of it like you were when you realized that it controlled your judgment when you were six. So it's foreign and now  _completely_  estranged."

"You said to be wary of it."

"I  _also_  said to embrace it," he snapped, eyes glinting violently. "Embrace it like you would an emotion so that it  _feels natural_  and makes it _manageable_."

" _Manageable_?" Yami spat incredulously. "You wish to tell me that this magic is  _manageable_? It has  _never_ —"

"Did you harm Yugi? Did it  _attack_ him, invade his mind?  _No_ , because it was like a second layer of emotion for you. It was something that you could  _manage_. Your father taught you  _one_  good thing and that was  _how to control your emotions_. You've  _never_  been impulsive until you met Yugi. Now  _think of_ the Puzzle's control of your judgment as an emotion and you will  _learn_  to manage it."

Yami blinked and turned his attention towards Kemo, spotting the slow, slightly strained rise and fall of his chest, and glanced back towards Atem, narrowing his eyes slowly. "Do I have  _time_  to learn it?"

"I thought you were a quick learner," Atem quipped.

"You make it sound like some kind of school subject and it is  _not_."

The spirit tilted his head. "I know  _well_  that it is not," he murmured, turning away again and chuckling softly. "It is  _you_  learning to use the Puzzle, not me."

"You seem to be finding this amusing."

"Very much so considering the time limit you are on and just how much you are wasting right now."

Yami let out a hiss of contempt and tilted his head up towards the window even as he wandered towards his shoes. "How much time?"

"You've only lost ten."

"I need to close that case…"

"Good idea," the spirit drawled. "You should take that knife and the second remote to your little collar too, remember?"

"Yes," Yami hissed, casting him a dark look and moving over to it.

* * *

Yugi was still asleep and Seto had to admit that he was a little grateful for that. Ever since they had gotten back, Rebecca had been firing questions at them—"Is Yami okay?", "What happened?", "Did you guys find anything out?"—and the smaller boy had ended up nearly losing his mind when she couldn't stand the few answers they actually had.

It had gone from simply inquiring about his cousin to all but obsessing over the message he had left them saying to wait until the last second. Yugi had grown antsy from the constant questioning and his own obsession over what Seto had told him before when they were driving back to the house, that Yami was saying that he had everything under control for the moment.

Even when they weren't talking about what had happened, Seto had ended up watching Yugi fidgeting from the corner of his eye while Rebecca stayed quiet for a few minutes and then leaped back into questioning again.

Yugi had eventually ended up screaming at her to shut up and Rebecca had stared at him with wide eyes while the boy had curled up on the couch and watched the laptop for two hours before falling asleep.

Rebecca was still at the other end of the couch, still sulking slightly with that frustrated pout where her bottom lip jutted out. She had shut up when Yugi had screamed at her and hadn't opened her mouth since.

He had to admit he was beyond grateful for that one too.

But the lack of talking and the fact that Yugi was even asleep in the first place was distracting enough that it made him tired as well, the need for rest mirrored clearly on Rebecca's face as well.

He fell asleep watching his cousin put the case back up against the wall.

* * *

Yami reached for the pocket knife, trying not to touch him and fighting back the urge to snarl as Atem mumbled, "Stop being such a bitch and take it. You know how the fuck to knock him out again if you have to."

His skin prickled in alarm for a long minute, feeling slightly sick; the stupid spirit was right. He knew he could choke him out again but his handprints would show, just like they would with Kemo's.

His eyes flickered upwards to stare at him—at _Yugi_ —and fought back the urge to vomit when the blue-violet-eyed boy slowly crouched at his side and murmured, "When he comes after you again, it'll only make it easier for you to allow the Puzzle to help. You'll be too tired to bother fighting its influence and things will be  _that_  much simpler."

"And you don't think that something might go  _wrong_?" he asked incredulously.

"Hey, it's  _your_  darkness being manipulated. Just concentrate on  _not_  doing anything  _completely_  stupid."

Yami stared at him and spun on the magician, eyes widening as he started to stir; his skin crawled, fear and adrenaline slamming through him. His eyelids fluttered and the teen sprang, covering his mouth and squeezing his throat violently. Arkana made a weak grunting noise that made his heart skip a beat.

Pegasus was right there. Literally only a few feet away…

Hands moved to throw him off even as he steeled his sore muscles. Fucking hell.

Even just waking up, the bastard was proving to be a serious fucking problem.

His heart sowed and his grip tightened, weight balanced evenly in his haunches and preventing any attempt at being thrown off; his panic was dissipating and, unlike before, he was relieved to have the help. A violent wave of calm gripped him, refusing to budge even when Arkana thrashed beneath him, trying to throw him off.

His hands tightened and the palm covering his mouth flexed, fingers curling to dig into his flesh as he inched his legs onto his chest. He tipped forward slightly, shifting more so that his spine arched and curled, looming over him and digging his left knee into his throat beside his hand. Yami rocked back and forth, the sudden pressure and alleviation proving more fatal than just squeezing.

Arkana bucked and his hands went from attempting to push him away by the shoulders to trying at his throat as well now; his fingers caught on the collar, tugging at the metal plate and making the leather dig into the back of his neck. Frustration curled through him like wisps of smoke and the teen didn't think about it when he pulled his hand away from his face to smack him hard across his temple.

The gurgling noise he made had Yami's skin crawling but he didn't lessen his grip and the second collision of his hand with the other's head was just enough to knock him out. He released a few minutes after he was sure he wouldn't wake up again suddenly, breathing hard through his mouth once and glancing at Atem.

"There, doesn't that feel better?"

Yami squeezed his eyes shut, reaching up and pulling Arkana's hand away from the collar. "Remind me what I was doing before."

"I wouldn't  _entirely_  suggest staying like that for  _too long_ …"

"I won't be able to move around again if I don't," he snapped, opening his eyes slowly and looking around; none of the others were waking up. "I'm exhausted."

The spirit turned away and paced a few steps. "That's because the Puzzle's exhausted your little…aibou," he stated hesitantly.

Yami fixed him a cold look. "How do you even know that word?"

Atem cringed slightly, pulling his lips back in a grimace. "You, uh, you call him that sometimes…"

"Fucking hell. Tell me that  _wasn't_ you in those goddamned dreams."

"You disgust me," the spirit snarled. "Of course it wasn't  _me_. It was you and him in those dreams, you moron."

"Then  _how_  do you know that  _word_?"

"Because you fell asleep with the Puzzle on!"

"What the fuck does that have to do with  _you_? Explain it to me because I'm obviously  _missing_  something."

"Think, you stupid child. How is it that you suppose you are speaking to me now? You decided to use the Puzzle on Arkana and you  _bonded_  with it just enough to allow you to see  _me_."

"That makes no fucking  _sense_. I saw you when I was six too."

"Yes, when you first completed the Puzzle," Atem drawled, turning and suddenly walking back to his side. "Do you think that's coincidence?"

"I seem to be lacking the  _belief_  in  _coincidence_."

Atem leveled him a small smirk. "Let me tell you something,  _Atem_ ," he murmured, crouching down at his side and purring. "There have only  _ever_ been two to wear that lovely pendant around your neck. And that would be  _me_  and  _you_."

Yami curled his lip back, clenching his jaw. "You were bound to it. Not me."

The pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "Get up. You're wasting time."

The teen glanced at the magician and mumbled, "I don't remember what I was doing."

"Then  _gather your wits_  and  _figure it out_."

* * *

Yugi sat there tapping a rhythm on his knees and trying not to make noise despite his stomach growling, ignoring it and staring at the screen; he was talking to it. He was talking to the "glitch" that looked like him.

And the thing was moving.

He swore when it turned its "head" he saw a flash of blue-violet again.

But then it was gone and replaced with red like Yami's eyes and it scared the shit out of him.

The Puzzle's eye seemed to be absorbing the moonlight from the area around it, draining and making it cast a strange luminescent glow that made Yugi's skin crawl fearfully; what the hell could that thing do?

Was it the source of the "glitch?"

And why did the "glitch" show up on the screen if the others there with Yami didn't notice it.

He could see why Seto and Rebecca considered it that way, however.

It stayed more to the left side of the camera in every shot, as if it was just a permanent spot on the screen…

* * *

Yami got to his feet after a moment, glancing around slowly and starting off for the crane behind the chair, pausing at Kemo's feet. Shit, he needed to move him…

"You should probably move him," Atem commented suddenly, making the red-eyed teen glare in dissatisfaction.

"No shit."

"That would be utterly repulsive," the pharaoh replied, rolling his eyes. "I agree with your statement. No shit."

"You're disgusting."

"Cute. You're using vocabulary now."

"Fucking hell," he hissed, rolling his eyes and grabbing the former bodyguard's feet; he nearly fell over right then and there for a split second before he managed to pull him along two backwards steps. "What the fuck is this guy taking?"

The spirit howled with laughter and the teen glared angrily before gritting his teeth and tugging; he guessed this was what happened when you knocked someone out and had no real upper body strength in the first place. Well…that wasn't completely true. He had some, just not enough to do this shit.

Even with the Puzzle, this seemed to take so long it was disgusting.

Maybe if he just dumped the barrel on him…?

No, that would screw him over; either Kemo would wake up immediately or he would end up drowning him with the shit and he had no plans to screw up this sacrificial ritual that the Puzzle required.

"I wish you had a body so I could kick your ass."

"So cute, you're getting feisty. No wonder Yugi likes that."

Yami gagged and covered his mouth and Atem burst out laughing harder, eyes shining with amusement as his descendant gagged again and then squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head vigorously. By the gods, what the fuck was wrong with his ancestors?

"How the fuck am I even  _related_ to you?" he hissed, rolling his eyes and stalking backwards a few steps with Kemo weighing him down; with his darkness so active beneath his skin and in his mind, the strain wasn't really felt but it was noticed because of the lack of progress he was making in the first place.

"Really,  _Yami_?" Atem hissed, obviously insulted by the statement, something that Yami couldn't quite understand but didn't really care to question. "Are you fucking serious,  _Yami_? Must I go make you look in a mirror?"

Yami stopped short and glared at him before huffing just loud enough that the spirit heard and leaving Kemo there, walking around him with a glance at the others sleeping on the air mattresses; none of them stirred.

He ran the rest of the way to the crane, leaping and swaying when he caught the hook; the chain creaked softly and alarm ripped through him, eyes widening drastically as his body went rigid.

"Relax," Atem murmured from where he was on the ground, glancing at the bodies and then looking up at him with wide violet-specked eyes. "None of them are awakening. Just keep going and don't worry. If they do, I will tell you."

Yami gave the air mattresses a glance anyways, feeling his stomach coil with nerves before he managed to shake them off; his head was starting to hurt, a throb of fresh pain that made him flinch.

"You're relying on the Puzzle. It's drawing energy from you now that Yugi is too tired to give it," Atem explained softly, still not moving from his spot on the ground. "Don't freak out. It's going to hurt a little for a while, but as you said, you can't afford not to have it influencing you or else you wouldn't be able to move. You're going to be exhausted after this is over, you know."

"Yeah, I already figured that," Yami muttered under his breath, reaching up and grasping at the chain as his head pounded for a second; he glanced at Atem for a second and then continued pulling himself up, swinging and then leaping off as he had done before. He landed awkwardly, ankle folding with the impact and his head slamming into the wall; he was pretty sure that thud was too loud to be ignored.

"Fucking Ra, Yami, get your shit together," Atem spat in Yugi's voice, standing next to him and peering into the darkness with wide eyes. "Goddamn, I'm surprised no one is waking up from that."

Yami moved to sit up and turned around; the fact that none of them woke up at that moment was more alarming than if they had.

* * *

His stomach growled, a low rumble of desire and anxiety that made his skin crawl as he leaned forward and stared some more; he'd eat later. Maybe when they actually got Yami back, seeing as he hadn't eaten anything but a cracker since he'd been caught and that was  _only_ because Seto had literally pinned him down and shoved it down his throat after Rebecca had complained that he was going to make himself sick if he didn't eat.

He snorted softly; wow, this situation was miserable.

The three of them couldn't agree on anything to save their lives, they were constantly arguing about something or other. Sometimes it was Yami, sometimes it was Rebecca, sometimes it was him, other times it was Seto, then there was the topic of Americans versus Japanese in which Yugi shut that one down fast before Rebecca could attack him, then there was how he should have just chosen her instead in which Yugi had gone off and Seto had been sitting there laughing…

This entire thing was beyond miserable.

Yugi shook his head, watching Yami as he walked forward a few steps, glancing around and then pausing to look at the camera for a small second before turning away again.

He was honestly starting to wonder if he could  _feel_ it when Yugi was watching because, from what he knew, he only looked over when he was…

* * *

"Okay, so…how do I do this?"

"The jester has to go first," the spirit said without a single pause, looking at them as Yami fumbled with the top of the barrel in front of him; the cap wasn't budging despite his efforts to rid the metal cylinder of it.

"Because I messed with his darkness."

"Yes…but also because he's fucking annoying."

Yami choked on a laugh and cleared his throat awkwardly, casting a glare over his shoulder at his ancestor who shrugged innocently and gave him a small smile and a wink before he turned away again. "Wait, tell me something, how many are even down there right now?"

"Well, there are thirty altogether and four of them are missing from the group below. Odds are, they're outside in case you  _do_ somehow escape."

"I couldn't get very far anyways," Yami scoffed. "Arkana would just use the shocker on this collar and I'd be completely defenseless and all but dead."

"You don't know what death feels like," Atem hissed in response.

"…How did you die anyways?"

The spirit stayed silent for a long minute and then mumbled, "I don't remember" just as he was about to turn around; Yami was about to say that was crap but the sincerity in his voice put that thought to rest and he turned away immediately to look at the cap again, frowning in annoyance.

"Does dying hurt?"

"…Depends on how it happens. Obviously passing away in your sleep wouldn't be as harsh as being beaten to death or burned at the stake, buried alive or drowned…"

Yami shook his head; that wasn't what he had meant, but he wasn't about to question him again about it. He'd get distracted or start to feel a little guilty and sick about this…sacrificial ritual he was going to put into action and he couldn't afford to have that happen at any rate.

He glanced at the sky through the window; only a couple of hours before dawn. He leaned against the metal barrel for a moment, feeling the rust and feeling sick for a moment at the feel of the flakes against his skin, but didn't look down and refused to tear his eyes away from the window.

"How was the Puzzle made?"

Atem stayed silent and Yami turned around to look at him, the spirit leaning forward with his arms crossed and his chin on his shoulder. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," he finally spat after a long minute and a half.

"Whatever," the teen muttered, turning away and focusing on the barrel again; some of the rust had formed around the edges of the cap and beneath it. He wondered vaguely if he could chip it away with his fingernails but there wasn't enough light for that in the first place.

He dug into his pockets—thank the gods that they made jeans with such fucking large pockets—and pulled out the large box of strike-anywhere matches. Atem turned around with wide eyes and wandered over to his side, curious, and Yami struck the match with a satisfying hiss as the small flame burned and lit just enough for him to see that he couldn't scrape the rust off.

He would have to just keep trying his hand at twisting it off and breaking through the rust that way; he took a look at each of them in the row, finding that they were all pretty rusted. He made his way over to the other side of the walkway, blowing the match out and slipping it back into his pocket before striking a new one. The ones furthest to the right seemed to be in a more well-kept condition…

He blew the flame out, pocketing the matchbox, and grabbed the cold sides of the barrel he had been staring at a moment before, feeling his skin crawl with strained tingling and the pulse of pain in his head. Fucking hell, the thing was  _heavy_ …

His head felt like it might explode if he moved too much…

"Relax for a second and sit down before you do something stupid. You're in pain and losing your energy. Your judgment is off, as you already know from that stumble before."

Yami stopped and looked at him for a moment, opening his mouth to snap at him that he was fine before realizing he was right and staying quiet. It wasn't worth the effort of an argument anyways.

He fell back and ignored the discomfort at the sensation of having the chill of such cold metal seeping through the material of his jeans, fingers tingling for a moment as he looked at the massive barrel for a moment.

He could try knocking it on its side and rolling it and  _then_ trying to get the lid off, but who was to say for certain that even  _with_  the Puzzle he would be able to prop it back up and that he wouldn't wake them with the noise of it falling over in the first place?

Yami wasn't stupid.

He wasn't about to overestimate himself, not in this kind of situation.

Atem remained somewhere off in the darkness to his left, completely silent aside from some kind of noise that sounded distinctly like breathing. Yami stopped short and turned his head, staring at him in confusion only to find that the spirit was in Yugi's shape again, hands in his hair and his chin against his chest, hissing through his teeth with his lips curled back.

"Atem? What…?" he muttered, not sure if he was just being an ass and trying to worry him about Yugi or if something was wrong with the Puzzle or if he should take all of this completely serious.

"Goddamn it," the spirit hissed, making a vain movement to wave him off before snarling in pain. "Motherfucker!"

"What? What the hell is going on?"

"Your boy toy…" Atem spat, grabbing at his hair and pulling harshly; oddly all Yami could think about was whether ghosts could shed now that he was watching this. Intense curiosity overtook him for a moment but he didn't voice the question because it hardly seemed like something that would be beneficial. But fuck him, he was seriously curious about this now…

"What's wrong with Yugi?"

"Nothing," the spirit snapped, growling softly and tugging harder at his hair; Yami guessed that answered his question then. Because he should have torn that shit out with that kind of grip.

Yami blinked once.

Wow, he really needed to get his shit together.

"He's just hurting so fucking much that even  _attempting_ this shape is making me experience it with him…"

 _So don't take on that…shape_ , Yami thought for a moment before realizing just how stupid a statement that would be. He didn't think that Atem was actively swapping back and forth between the two, but merely took on the image of the one that the Puzzle was demanding of him. He didn't truly understand that logic either, but the magic obviously affected the spirit and aside from that, he guessed that Atem being in Yugi's "shape" helped make it easier for the Puzzle to feed off the small teen's energy. As well as hurt him in the process and punish him for the magic he was using in the first place.

Yami closed his eyes of a moment; this was getting more complex than he could honestly wrap his head around. He didn't have time to mess around and think about things like this. He had to complete the setup for this sacrifice and then be done with it.

He wondered how they were going to react.

Arkana was obviously going to want his head and the others were hardly going to be any happier, especially when they figured out that he had choked out two of them in the middle of the night.

No doubt Arkana would abuse him with the collar around his neck, because that honestly appeared to be some kind of twisted form of entertainment for him. He supposed it was because the Puzzle saved him or maybe just because he could imagine the mass amounts of pain that the experience gave him each time.

He shook his curiosity off and got up, glancing around but finding that Atem was completely gone. His eyes shot towards the camera on the wall, feeling sick to his stomach with the thought that Yugi was in pain or watching him at the moment, but there wasn't anything he could do about it so he turned his attention back to the barrel instead. He pressed his palms against the rough metal surface and leaned forward, rocking on the balls of his feet for a moment before glancing off into the darkness.

No one on the air mattresses seemed to be stirring.

But they would be soon enough.

There was no way that they wouldn't be awake in a matter of minutes.

He pressed his palm against the cap and twisted until he thought that his hand might break, sighing in frustration for a moment. Vaguely he remembered a Jackie Chan movie where he peed on his shirt and used it to separate the bars of his jail cell like a cartoon character might have, but he hardly wanted to piss on his shirt and he was pretty sure that didn't apply to this situation.

But it did give him enough of an idea about friction to slip his hand into his jacket pocket and lean over, putting most of his weight into the movement; for a moment it didn't give and then finally it twisted.

He was half-expecting it to be his imagination, his mind making it up to satisfy his tired and pained state, but it gave again when he twisted a second time and the excitement that settled in his bones was hardly something that he could have faked. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and grasped at the smooth sides, undoing the cap all the way; the stench of the gasoline-oil mixture hit his nose immediately and made him cringe.

By the gods, his head was hurting enough without the burn to his nose.

He let out a huff of annoyance and screwed the cap back on before hurrying off to make an attempt on another two. The first gave way easily but the second fought him for a few minutes and he was starting to get antsy with the idea of wasting time.

Immediately he went to ask Atem but fell silent when he found that the spirit was still gone, making him wonder about the possibility of him going inside the Puzzle or back to the afterlife again at times like this. He kind of thought that the Puzzle was more likely but he also wanted to pretend that the afterlife was just as equal a choice.

He shook the thought off and rubbed at his palm before going for his fourth barrel, moving to undo the cap before groping around the sides of the cylinder and finding a thin but sturdy-feeling chain; that must have been how they had gotten them up there in the first place. By using the pulleys to gather them up and then put them up there…

He glanced at the pulley closest to him, somewhat amused by just how easy they had actually made this for him, and went about grabbing the hook that they had wrapped around the railing by his leg. The chain creaked softly but not enough that it was noticeable and Yami cringed but bit back a curse out of fear of making noise and drawing them back into consciousness.

He pulled the chain slowly, taking small steps and only allowing his movements to be subtle so that the creaking wouldn't resume; his stomach twisted with the realization that this was going to be tiresome and time consuming. There was no way that he could try lowering two at a time, one because he didn't have the strength to try to keep two of them from falling to the ground and two because he was pretty sure they would make noise if they shook on the way down.

At least with only one the mixture would slosh but it wouldn't make a thudding noise by making the barrels collide together.

He pulled the barrel's chain, a little surprised when he found that there really two, two layers of links that he could slide over the crane's hook; he was satisfied with the discovery but still a little more than worried about the thought of lowering it down. He would have to make sure that he didn't try anything with a barrel that's chain was weak or rusted, but at least this would easy enough, right?

Yami dragged the barrel backwards, feeling tired as his head throbbed but ignoring it in order to pull the pulley's chain until the barrel's strained; now came the hard part because he was pretty sure if he didn't do this right, it was going to fall and jerk backwards and slam into the railing or the wall.

He pulled the crane's chain tighter and dragged the barrel forward again, pressing it against railing and leaning against it for a long minute, breathing hard and closing his eyes. He couldn't feel any ache under his skin but his mind was throbbing and his lungs felt tight, knowing without thinking about it that it was lack of being fed and the stress that had been weighing on his mind the entire time as it was.

The idea of the ritual now added an effect of guilt that was too-early settled and fear that it wouldn't work. It didn't help that he had officially grown paranoid now as well. He was half convinced that one of them was awake but they were waiting for him to slip up so then they would have a reason to shoot him.

Vaguely his mind argued that if they shot him, they wouldn't get the money that they had been so desperate for in the first place.

He pulled the chain and tried to find a way to help ease the burden of the barrel but couldn't find anything, instead grabbing the links and tugging until the cylinder lifted and scraped against the railing softly, a noise that made Yami freeze for a second before moving again when his head started pounding again.

Oh gods, this was going to be a miserable little task, wasn't it?

Yami tugged and waited until he had gotten the barrel up high enough that it was about to pass over the railing, holding it steady for a moment and then pulling violently. The chain creaked and the barrel swung once, jerking viciously from the sway of liquid inside, nearly threatening to knock him off his feet with the force before he managed to catch himself.

He waited a full thirty seconds before it finally settled enough that he could start lowering it slowly; he clenched his eyes shut and continued slipping the chain upwards to lower the barrel, head spinning for a moment. He'd gotten four of the barrels open and he was pretty sure four was a good enough number. He could lower four of them down and spill them across the floor, soak it and then get back in his chair and— _hopefully_ —sleep.

The barrel touched the ground and he lowered the chain only slightly more before wiggling the thick links to slip the crane out of the barrel's loose handles. For a moment he couldn't get it completely free and almost panicked, terrified that he would lose all the time he had, but slacked the chain again, shaking it gently until it released.

And all he could think as he tried to find the strength to pull it back up again was that religious people were liars and hell wasn't full of gays but full of physical labor when you hadn't been fed for three days while on a time frame in which you were going to kill other people with a narcissistic spirit as your guide and a throbbing headache brought on by a magical item eating at your energy in order to make you stronger.

* * *

Yugi drew his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, settling his chin on his knees and watching with a frustrated sense of helplessness around his pain that made him want to vomit.

This was almost as bad as just watching the red-eyed teen kill himself in his dreams.

He ground his teeth together in anger at the idea and his head seemed to split in half with pain before it finally settled some again and he was left cringing and watching.

* * *

He lowered the last barrel, straining his muscles to pull the hook back up for the last time to loop it around the railing again, and took a seat, hands in his lap and legs laid out as he panted for breath and threw himself backwards to lay down.

He was pretty sure he had just lost the better part of an hour.

Dawn had to be less than two hours away.

While that was still good time, it made no time for him to actually rest because he was sure there was going to be something going on as soon as the afternoon rolled in.

Something about the knife he had stolen from the suitcase said that much.

He let out a loud sigh and entertained the momentary thought of resting there before getting up and wandering back towards the last barrel he had to work with, the only one that he had managed to open after that; it was more than half empty and much easier to drag around to do what he was about to, which made it that much better.

He pulled lightly on the crane that he had tucked next to the start of the walkway and could hear the latch pulling halfway; the stairs didn't fall, thankfully, but he had no doubt that all it would take would be a small tap for it to happen.

Either way, he ignored this in favor of twisting the cap off the barrel and tipping it on its side, spilling the contents across the folded stairs and the latch, the crane and some of the links underneath. It dripped and splattered in soft droplets across the floor beneath them but it was the smell that worried him the most.

He knew it wasn't going to immediately wake them, which was in his favor, but it still scared the shit out of him.

Yami crouched on top of the railing for a moment, glancing at the sleeping forms on the mattresses, and leaped for the crane in the center. It shrieked for a second, loud against the silence, but not enough to wake them, something that he thanked the gods for before jumping to the floor again when he had slid half way down.

His feet ached and tingled when he landed, ankle and the muscle in his leg straining from the force, but he didn't care enough to keep from moving immediately to the barrels that were a few inches away.

The caps came off easily, as he had known they would, and he tipped them both over after a moment, watching the liquid spread out and start to soak the floor, running off for the other two and ignoring the way his nose burned and his shoes squeaked with the sound of the gas-oil mixture rising with the heel of each boot.

He got the other two in the same position and sprinted for the chair, jumping in it and quickly pulling the chains up despite the way that his body protested angrily, the Puzzle's influence starting to fray like a broken twig as his head pounded violently. He regurgitated the needle and tipped his head down to redo the lock, losing time and swallowing the hollow piece of metal again a second later when they all started to stir.

He was half-asleep when he realized that the lock was only half-done.

* * *

Yugi watched him sleep for a few minutes and then curled up and did the same, exhausted out of his mind as his head throbbed painfully.

The darkness was far too endless for his liking and it was… _whispering_ at him, soft little nothings that made his skin crawl and his heart pound. Something stroked at his skin for a moment and then he was falling.

He didn't know whether to scream like they did in movies or try for one of those excitedly loud cries so he ended up just holding his arms up and trying to brace himself for it, left leg bent for when he finally touched the ground.

It rushed up suddenly.

A pathway of bright golden bricks that looked perfectly polished and sent his mind into a frenzy.

It looked…like a massive road of golden bricks that shown and glowed with that strange eeriness that the Puzzle possessed…

He snickered.

 _Follow the yellow brick road_.

Wow, he really needed to grow up a little.

Where the fuck was he anyways?

Yugi paced forward a few steps, looking around and cringing in disbelief and pure shock; the darkness was endless around him but there were a million and one different staircases, all of them going in different directions and opposing ways. Some were upside down and the others were upright and the room felt too bright but it felt too dark and it was too cold but his skin was too hot…

"Where the fuck am I?" he wondered out loud, more because he thought he could  _feel_ someone or something there with him and it both freaked him out and left him a little excited at the idea of it just because it was so  _strange_ …

The small teen pursed his lips and let out a soft huff of a sigh, wandering forward a few more steps and looking up only to find endless blackness like a sea made entirely of dark ink, bottomless and infinite…

"Atem?"

Yugi froze and his head snapped around, gawking in disbelief before blinking wide eyes in shock; was he hallucinating again? No, this had to be a dream, right? But he felt awake…so a lucid dream then?

But he'd never had one of those before…

"Yami."

The taller teen raised a brow, confused as he strode towards him. "Shouldn't you be telling me about this ritual or something?" he huffed, gesturing around. "I mean, look at where we're at and you haven't told me anything, Atem."

"Who the fuck is Atem?" Yugi asked, voice growing vicious as he crossed his arms. "I swear to the gods, if you shacked up with more than just Mai, I'm going to kick your ass."

Yami stopped short, eyes growing wide before he jerked backwards, stumbling a step and falling over himself, gawking; the smaller teen frowned and glanced around before hurrying over to check on him.

"You okay?"

Yami recoiled at the feel of warm flesh against his hand when Yugi leaned over to check on him.

Yugi stopped short and stared at him; wait, had he done something before he got kidnapped?

Oh, yeah…the date…

Hmm…

He snorted in amusement. That made no sense whatsoever because this was a lucid dream and he was dreaming about… _The Wizard of Oz_ …apparently…

He wrinkled his nose. Why was he dreaming about that again?

When was the last time he had even  _seen_ that movie?

"Y-you're actually here," Yami stammered suddenly, eyes growing owlish as he opened and closed his mouth, looking like a gaping fish while Yugi tried to figure out how long ago it had been since the last time he had watched it; he thought maybe he had been seven or eight? His grandpa had turned it into a…more perverted tale about how the wicked witch was a whore who never got enough money and the pretty one had plastic surgery to stay that way because she had all the customers and Dorothy happened to be a girl joining the service but her first three were too clingy and the fourth rejected her but told her if she could get the wicked witch a customer, he would happily make her one of the girls…

Yugi blinked wide eyes and blushed furiously; he should never have asked his grandpa to explain that damn movie to him. Especially since he had thought it was okay to write that report on it and take it to class in fourth grade when they were assigned movies.

Oh fucking hell…

That fucking pervert.

"Goddamn it," he muttered under his breath, going rigid when Yami suddenly tackled him, holding him tightly and pressing his face into his neck, nuzzling his skin and making him shiver. "What, um…Yami, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"You're actually here…"

Yugi furrowed his brows and fought back a sharp remark, instead muttering, "Yeah, apparently I'm having this really awkward lucid dream. So, uh, you do this a lot then? I mean, considering the way that you're acting to me being here…"

Yami froze for a second, confused before he felt his stomach clench; yeah, he couldn't tell Yugi that this was the Puzzle. First of all because he had no words to explain and second because he didn't want to hurt him somehow. It seemed like some kind of unspoken law that he wasn't to actually  _tell_ Yugi about the Puzzle or else he would end up getting hurt and Yami didn't want that to happen…

"It happens. On occasions," Yami stated between his teeth.

"Whoa, no need to get feisty," Yugi snorted. "It was a question. So, hey, lucid dreamer with  _experience_ , want to tell me how we can change the background to this? I want to go walking through a haunted forest with wolves howling and angry kitty eyes in the bushes and children screaming somewhere off in the background."

The taller blinked and pulled back. "…What?"

"You know, like, uh…Little Red Riding Hood or something," he scoffed dismissively. "Scary forbidden forest shit. I figured I might as well conquer that in my life somehow. This dream seems like it might be the only way to do it without ending up killed by some angry kitty or a pack of wolves."

Yami furrowed his brows in confusion and shook his head slowly; did he need to tell him how many things were wrong with that statement?

"God, you're no fucking fun," Yugi mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Must mean you're actually lucid dreaming with me and  _not_ some kind of figment of my dreamscape."

"…What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"That you're just as boring here as you are in real life."

Yami blinked and narrowed his eyes into slits. "Son of a bitch."

"Hmm…I would argue but I can't really find a point to do so with."

The red-eyed teen sighed loudly. "Fucking  _Ra_."

"Is that what you normally do in these kinds of dreams?" the smaller teen teased, looking at him and raising an eyebrow with a pointedly sultry look. "Fuck gods that you pray to?"

He gawked, entire face turning bright red while Yugi burst out laughing and got to his feet; Yami decided to be quiet about the fact that he may have fucked  _a_  god in his dream but he didn't pray to him unless he was particularly rough.

* * *

Yugi wandered around aimlessly for what felt like forever, Yami behind him the entire time, both of them quiet for the most part because he couldn't seem to make the other participate in some lighthearted banter like he was truly dying to do.

"All right, this is bullshit," he announced, spinning on the taller who stopped short with wide eyes, staring at him in alarm. "This is  _not_ a fucking lucid dream because if it was, the scenery would have changed by now and you would be dressed in tight ass leather and begging me to get you out of it."

Yami's mouth dropped open, cheeks turning red while the other teen huffed and crossed his arms; the crimson-eyed boy ducked his head and shifted awkwardly, making him snicker before glaring again.

"Look, seriously, where the fuck  _are_ we?" he demanded. "My lucid dreams would be  _far_ more fun than this. I mean, this is just boring. Wandering around endlessly? Not my kind of fun."

Yami stayed quiet and shook his head, raising his gaze to lock with his before he turned away and started around him, careful not to touch him again as if he was suspicious that he had the plague or might disappear at any moment if they brushed skin.

"Tell me where we are. Or I swear I'm not going any farther," Yugi spat.

That threat was entirely too empty; Yami turned his head and leveled him with a small stare that said that exact same thought and Yugi found himself trying to ignore it at least the tiniest bit. He was tied to him, and nothing could sever that. Wherever this truly led, he would follow him through it.

But that didn't mean he didn't need to know.

He didn't call him out on his little lie, instead tilting his head and really looking him over as if he hadn't seen him in years; the smaller teen shifted awkwardly, feeling sick to his stomach for a moment. Yami looked like he might fall onto his knees in front of him and just try to hold him at any moment…

And then the look passed and he turned away, mumbling, "I don't know where we are."

Yugi stared at him for a long minute; he was lying. But if he was lying, there had to be a reason for it, right? Maybe he was just too scared or he thought something might happen if he did?

He was kind of finding it… _extremely_ hard to justify this lie for him.

"Whatever."

Yami turned his head, about to open his mouth, but stopped short when he saw the stare he was giving him; Yugi was suspicious but he wouldn't press. That was just enough to make the other teen feel okay enough to relax somewhat and let down the smallest bit of his defenses.

"…So, since this is pretty much an endless piece of shit labyrinth with literally  _no_ rules, do you want to make out a little or something?" Yugi mumbled, blinking and rocking back forth on the balls of his feet. "I mean, I'm not seeing anything else worth doing, right?"

The taller teen stared at him as if he had lost his mind for a moment but then shrugged and plopped onto the floor, crossing his legs and waiting until Yugi finally gave in after rolling his eyes; he walked over to him, straddling him, and lowered himself into his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and staring at his mouth for a moment.

"You smell like gasoline."

Yami frowned and sniffed at his shoulder, huffing, "Son of a  _bitch_."

"Then again, who am I to complain?" he muttered, rolling his eyes and blushing when the taller teen suddenly turned his head and sniffed at his shirt before recoiling.

"Fucking  _Ra_."

"Shut up! You smell just as bad—worse actually! You have gasoline  _and_ old clothes  _and_ body odor."

Yami opened and closed his mouth once before scowling. "Fine. You win this round."

" _Damn straight_!" the smaller crowed, snickering as his frustrated face and moving to press their lips together.

* * *

"My jaw is starting to hurt," Yugi muttered, pushing him away and flexing it, the bones popping and sliding under his skin loudly while Yami let out a yawn and nodded slightly before falling onto his back.

"Thank the gods."

The smaller teen smirked and poked him in the chest. "I won. I outlasted you. I totally won."

"Hmm, yeah, well, what do you want as a prize?"

"I kind of want to say a blowjob," he admitted, watching the other teen lose the color to his face even as he continued with, "but actually that seems a little too…normal, you know? I think, whenever we wake up and you get back, I'm going to chain you to the bed again and take you that way."

Yami sputtered and gawked. "W-what?"

He nodded. "Maybe not  _immediately_ after, because fuck me, I know I don't want to do that immediately and you'll probably want to be avoiding anything restricting for a little while, but eventually. Yep, I totally plan to tie you up and take you."

The taller teen froze, staring with owlish eyes and shaking his head slowly in confusion; what was he even talking about? Wasn't he going to be dating Rebecca? Did he mean to say that he planned to keep Yami on the side?

The red-eyed boy cringed and Yugi's smirk disappeared instantly, confused out of his mind by the display of immense hurt in his eyes; was he okay?

"What?"

Yami shook his head a couple of times and then mumbled, "What about…?"

"What? What about what?" Yugi prompted, confused and a little scared of his reaction; if he turned and ran again, he swore to the gods, he would murder the fucking bastard. "What about what, Yami?"

He opened his mouth but both of them recoiled at the feel of pain that came across their heads at that moment; Yugi woke up on the couch and found himself staring at the screen as Yami jerked away to Arkana facing him.

The laptop's screen was split into two frames, one of the shots from the side and the other from the upper front; Yugi didn't have to think about it to know that they were streaming live again. The small boy sat up and scooted a little closer, ignoring some of the pain in his head as Yami had his chin jerked up again, the jester staring at him with a wide smirk.

"Looks who's been misbehaving all night."

Yami looked at him for a moment, groggily muttering, "Mis…behaving?" in a rasp that was deep and laden with a tired awareness that just barely lingered in the tiniest flecks of his darkened eyes.

"Is that too big a word for you?" he sneered, leaning forward and tipping Yami's jaw up again to look at the collar; the teen was well aware of the marks on his and Kemo's necks, long-fingered handprints that were blackish in color…

He let out a loud yawn of ignorance and looked towards the cameras for a moment, first the security camera and then at the web cam that had been placed a little  _too_ close for his liking. That little blue dot blinking at him was mocking him, almost laughing, or maybe it was in his head.

Fucking hell, there was laughter in his head…

 _Atem_ …?

His skin crawled.

Was that even possible?

Or was it his darkness, laughing and whispering in his head and playing with the corners of his consciousness, just waiting to come out again when Arkana really started to play with him?

"How about this phrase, Yami?" the jester snickered, holding up the remote and smirking widely as the red-eyed teen's attention slowly drifted to it. "Shock. Therapy."

"I think I like fire better," the teen replied in a sneer, baring his teeth when he saw the startled fear in his eyes before turning the switch. Yami clamped his jaw down and struggled with the idea of not letting himself get too absorbed in the pain because he was pretty sure his darkness was lingering at the edges of his mind and it was ready to come out and he couldn't have that happen yet…

His body shuddered and twitched, rolling through a spasm even as he snarled around his lungs feeling as if they were caving in, the Puzzle gleaming and seeming to grow electrified on the camera, sparks of yellow and white energy that jumped off the gold and disappeared in forked light.

"Oh god," Yugi hissed, frozen in place and staring at both the Puzzle and Yami, unsure which one he was more scared of at the moment because the situation was a little too daunting for him to truly wrap his head around. The energy jumped and crackled on the live video but the security camera caught it reaching out almost in the shape of something like a hand for the smallest of seconds.

"Are they shocking him?" Rebecca gasped, covering her mouth and staring with wide blue-green eyes.

The switch clicked again and Yami felt his chin fall against his chest for a moment before he blinked open his eyes, thin bands of red around dilated black pupils that nearly consumed the entire iris. He drew in a deep breath and the Puzzle crackled and burned against his skin, searing heat that said he was lucky that he wasn't dead.

"You know," Arkana murmured, laughing in delight when the teen's gaze locked on coldly and the pupils started contracting, the red around them seeming to glow and spark like flames. "It's kind of funny. That blast? It would have killed an African elephant. And yet you're still here. Looks like that little gem around your neck actually  _does_ have some  _real_ kind of magic to it."

The red-eyed teen let out a chuckle and tipped his head up, whispering, "How are your nightmares, Arkana? See my face often?" in a low voice that turned into a snarl at the end when he chomped his teeth. "Want to see just how much  _worse_ I can make them?"

The jester recoiled and Yami saw him turning a knob on the remote, tilting his head and then jerking violently as a stronger blast of electricity raced through his system. He saw multicolored lights weaving in and out and around in the darkness, flares of something like fire that faded for split seconds but started up again almost instantly afterwards, always moving but never touching and never appearing in the same place. It was almost like watching a video of a blacked-out city with the only lights being the headlights of cars racing by, fast-forwarded to the point that it made his head spin.

"Knock if off," Pegasus snarled, snatching the device out of his hand and switching it off; Yugi let out a whimper as the other teen remained perfectly still for a moment, looking almost as if he couldn't bring himself to raise his head. "We need him  _alive_."

"Hey, as long as that thing around his neck is on, he's golden," Arkana snorted dismissively, shrugging and going to pull on his hair only to have him tip his head up and stare at him.

"Jesters first," he hissed, curling his lips back. "Sacrifices demand that the jesters go first."

The man jerked backwards in a slight recoil and then spat, "Your brain is scrambled, you little brat."

Pegasus looked unnerved and a little more than unsure of what to do in response to the statement that Yami had just made; the red-eyed teen caught his gaze and tilted his head, spitting, "I'm going to have fun decorating with your blood."

Yugi flinched and Rebecca gagged while Seto merely blinked and the captive teen finally lowered his head, tucking his chin against his chest and closing his eyes, seeming to fall asleep rather than slip into unconsciousness.

Watching him, he was oddly curious about whether or not he could fall asleep and end up in a dream with Yami again, maybe see if he could find out something more than the little bit they had been seeing on the screen lately.

But that hadn't been a lucid dream and he could prove that just by paying attention to the tingling sensation that made up his mouth. He didn't have to think about it to know that his lips were swollen from kissing him…

So then where the fuck had they been and why could he actually still  _feel_ it?

* * *

"He's awake," Yugi muttered, waking the brunet none too gently with a shove that sent him off the couch; it earned him a glare and a vicious growl of a noise but he didn't care to look at him.

Yami was wide awake and looking around curiously and Arkana and Pegasus stood a few feet away from him; the live video feed was back on again and Yugi was a little disturbed by how quiet it was.

"What the fuck happened to the knife?" Arkana spat suddenly, turning around from the suitcase and looking at Yami and Pegasus; all of them flinched when he rushed at the red-eyed teen and grabbed his neck. " _What did you do to it_?"

Yami pulled his lips back into a wide smirk and started laughing just as he squeezed.

"Let go of him," Pegasus snarled, shoving him off and looking at Yami with a narrowed eye, glancing at the Puzzle and then the boy again. "All right, what did you do with it?"

Yami started laughing harder, throwing his head back and coughing loudly for a second; the heaving noise and the way his ribcage shook for a moment startled both of his captors into stepping back once, eyes wide as they stared at him in shock. The teen lowered his head and poked the blade out of his lips, laughing again as he pushed it out slightly further with his tongue, the hilt touching the back of his throat just enough that he didn't gag.

"Fucking Christ," Seto hissed, scrubbing his face with his hands and letting out a groan of a noise. "Son of a fucking bitch."

Yugi glanced at him but was immediately focused on Yami again; he'd swallowed a fucking knife? What the fucking hell?

"Son of a bitch," Arkana hissed, looking mesmerized and terrified while Pegasus curled his lip back in disgust and pure rage, glancing at the cameras for a moment before grabbing at him as the jester had done a moment before.

"Want to try to take it?" Yami purred around the blade, voice sinful as his tongue rolled beneath the sharpened metal. "We can play a game with it. You try to take it and I can stab you with it in the meantime…"

A smack to the back of his head had him jerking forward but not releasing the knife in his mouth even the slightest bit. "How cute, Kemo," he snickered. "But you didn't hit hard enough."

"Don't touch him," Pegasus snarled. "If you do that, he's going to choke on the damn thing."

"Quite the contrary, pet. I won't choke. I don't think the Puzzle would let me, do you?"

The brown-eyed man stepped back once, eyeing it warily. "I don't know what the fuck that thing would do," he hissed. "But obviously you know what we had planned to do, yes?"

Yami tipped his head back for a moment, swallowing before purring, "Oh yes, I'm well aware of what you planned to do." He turned his head to look at Kemo from the corner of his eye; he couldn't get out of the chains as long as he was behind him. Not if he wanted to get both Arkana and Pegasus before the others. Kind of funny that they were all inside the damn warehouse, sometimes wandering away outside for small moments as if to check but  _always_ coming back…

"You know that it's a crime, right?" he murmured, turning around to stare at him. "Raping and mutilating a sixteen-year-old's skin when you carve your name in it…"

"Bide for time but don't push it. If Pegasus realizes just what you're doing, you're dead meat," Atem whispered in his ear, voice soft but loud enough that he could hear him without difficulty; Yami couldn't feel him so he hadn't manifested somewhere…

"What was that supposed to be anyways, Pegasus? A message to my father that you're stronger than him? A message to me that I'm just a little pawn for you guys to play with?" Yami drawled softly, tilting his head and closing his eyes for a moment.

"A blood sacrifice," the spirit had said when he asked about the carvings on the side of the handle, the eye and symbols of the gods. "More concentrated, easier to maintain. Your blood shed on that knife means that they can bind you to them. Not like with the Puzzle or with the other Items, but something along the lines of your blood granting them the promise of money and luck, steady income. They would have to have you completely at their will and feeling helpless to perform it and then your life would fall into shambles later when this was over."

"At what cost?" Yami had wondered, glancing over his shoulder at them as he ran his fingers over the blade.

"Trades. Something that is seemingly invaluable to the human race that other creatures don't truly care for with survival. They adapt but your race rarely manages it." Atem had paused and then moved over to his side, looking at the knife. "Most likely one of the senses. So most probably eyesight. But considering the amount of magic it would need going against with the Puzzle, it would require something…higher as the payment. So, more probably, half of their lives, firstborn children, something like that."

Yami guessed, as he opened his eyes and stared at them, that it didn't really matter the prices that they were willing to pay, just that they never got the chance to do so.

"You wouldn't have gotten away with it regardless of me playing games around the warehouse, Pegasus," he snorted, glancing at Kemo again and chomping his teeth loudly with a snarl when he found that he had yet to move from his spot behind him. "And sending this to my father would be the stupidest idea you've had yet. Not that this entire  _plan_ wasn't the most pathetic thing I've ever wrapped my head around."

"Don't let him know you know the Puzzle's influence," Atem hissed. "The moment you do that, it's all over. He'll figure out what you plan to do…"

Yami glared at the former bodyguard until he snorted in dismissal and turned away, wandering a few steps off towards the door; some of the others followed him out and the teen watched them go before turning back.

"Don't worry about them. The moment you get your hands on them is when they'll come running back."

He had the impulse to nod but shrugged it off instead, turning his attention to Pegasus and staring just as Arkana grabbed him around the throat and squeezed. He recoiled, snarling and holding his hand, and Yami blinked at the scent of burning flesh, eyes growing wide with a look of feigned confusion.

"Idiot," Pegasus hissed, rolling his eye and turning away, expression full of frustrated thoughtfulness; Yami cast one small peek at the lock around the chains that held him in place and felt his lungs grow cold.

It was completely undone. He guessed when he had been shocked, it had been enough to rattle them until the lock came undone but not enough for them to fall completely off.

He turned away immediately before either of them noticed the new focus of his attention.

But then again, maybe it would be better if they knew…?

Croquet was standing off in one of the corners, not exactly doing anything but watching his employer wandering back and forth in a furious pace, and Yami couldn't help but find that more than a little amusing.

A strange feeling settled into his bones, heating his blood and making his skin crawl for a split second; he'd only ever experienced it once before—when he was six and had finally put the Puzzle together. Purpose, self-possession, of  _knowing_ —truly  _knowing_ — _what he was doing_.

He shifted under the chains, slow movements that made it impossible for him to truly be noticed, and watched them closely; if he could just get Arkana to react a little violently to something without giving away his own position, it could turn out better than if he did something stupid himself.

But how to make him react violently without retaliating immediately was another story.

He cast a glance around and narrowed his eyes; there were only three of them in the room?

No, there was officially only Pegasus and Arkana now; Croquet had apparently wandered outside now as well…

He cast one last look all the way around and then turned back to see that both of them were now looking at him; ah, so Croquet hadn't  _wandered_ off, Pegasus had signaled for him to leave the room too.

"You can spit the knife up by your own means or we can beat the shit out of you until you cough it up," the jester sneered suddenly.

Yami gave them both a bored look and glanced at the camera, jerking his head towards it and murmuring, "You're all a bunch of idiots. It may take forever for police in other places to figure out a case like this but it would take only five seconds for it to happen here. Do you want to know why?"

Arkana glanced at the security camera and went still, Pegasus following his lead when he didn't turn back immediately; the red-eyed teen wiggled and pushed the chains off him, careful not to make noise, tipping his head back and regurgitating the knife again.

"Son of a bitch," the jester spat. "His cousin must have been watching us this entire time."

Yami pulled the knife out of his mouth, opening his jaws all the way to avoid cutting himself, and wiped some of his saliva off, grimacing and curling his lip with a small pout on his face. Why couldn't that have been… _less_ slobbery?

Oh well, at least it had gotten the job done, right?

He tilted his head and waited a moment; Atem had said that Arkana needed to face him when he killed him, not looking in another direction, something about the sense of sight being needed for the ritual.

"You both of have to see each other in order for it to work," the spirit sighed in his ear, sounding beyond exasperated. "God, I swear, children these days are just pathetic as all fuck these days. Can't listen worth shit."

Yami bit back a laugh and instead let out a small yawn that made the jester turn around, gawking as he launched himself at him; Pegasus cried out when he hit the ground beneath the two of them and Arkana let out a bloodcurdling scream as the knife hit his pulse point. The teen wasn't an expert on killing, but he wasn't so stupid as to keep the knife in the wound or let the blood get on him, jerking away immediately and watching it spray upwards like a volcano for a split second.

He moved and Arkana screamed again as he went to grab the gun in his waistband, snatching it just as the jester went to grab him. He moved back a step and danced out of the way when Pegasus jumped to his feet and backed up.

Arkana went through a seizure of movement, no longer screaming, gurgling loudly as Yami turned the safety off on the gun and realized belatedly that he should have gone for the ammo he had as well. His fault for not thinking that far ahead, but it didn't matter anyways.

He checked the chamber, without taking his eyes off Pegasus, touching each of the bullets with his finger and then rolling it back in place with a single jerk of his hand. He recognized this gun, now that he thought about it.

A little handgun that was a lot stronger than one would assume with the sleek black body and the way that the barrel seemed almost sawed in half compared to other ones. For a split second he worried that maybe the gun was filled with blanks but the look on Pegasus's face said otherwise, eye wide and sweat beginning to slowly move down his face, terrified.

Thirty-eight snub, concealed hammer, five shots automatic wheel-gun.

Yep, he recognized it.

He was pretty sure his dad had one just like it, now that he thought about it…

Vaguely he felt the chill that came with Atem manifesting nearby, not the least bit surprised when he found that he was right at his side in the form of Yugi, blue-violet eyes narrowed and gleaming fiercely as they both looked at Pegasus for a moment.

"You don't even know what to do with a gun," Arkana managed to spit from the floor, holding his throat; the wound wasn't even fatal now that Yami really thought about it. He had just stabbed him there as Atem had explained he would need to do before then, saying that he would have to bleed Arkana out a little as he was the first kill…

"You've taken enough of his blood," Atem growled next to him, tilting his head as he looked over and licked his lips. "Go ahead and kill him if you want."

The image of his crumpled body was imprinted in his head; he didn't have to look back to aim and  _pull_  the trigger. The gunshot made his ears ring and the ricochet almost shook his hand hard enough to make him drop the weapon. Arkana's scream made him snicker and Pegasus gaped openly.

"Say hello to your kneecaps, Arkana," Yami purred, turning the gun on the other American. "Sadly, I can't just shoot you between the eyes like I _want_ because my life  _apparently_ depends on your pathetic existence for  _now_."

Pegasus slowly regained composure, staring at him pointedly and waiting. Yami didn't have to think about it to know what it was he thought was supposed to be happening but failed to say anything out loud. His hand should have been shaking, quivering like a leaf; he'd been counting on that to give him time to draw his own weapon…

"It's called elk fever," Yami purred at him as if he had read his mind; who knew? Maybe he had. No one really knew what the hell that thing around his neck could honestly do. The eye gleamed suddenly, almost as if winking, and the teen pointed the barrel at him. "Put that shotgun in your waistband on the floor and kick it away."

"What?"

"You heard me Pegasus," he snarled quietly. "Now _do_  it."

The American hesitated for a long minute and then finally started to draw it out of his waistband; Yami aimed at his hand when he pulled the safety off and Pegasus stilled for a moment.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Pegasus?" he sneered. "You should get a grip if you do, because I'm far from it and you're pathetic if you think that you're going to be able to shoot me before I get this bullet through your hand, understand me?"

He hesitated for a moment, seeming to test that with his mind and Yami made a point of tapping the trigger once with his finger, the other male finally seeming to realize that he could lose his hand or he could drop the gun and do as he said. The brown-eyed man finally lowered it to the floor and kicked it away, stumbling back a few steps as Yami stalked forward.

The teen ignored the gun on the ground, instead moving straight towards him and smirking at the way that he backed into the suitcase and tripped over. Yami's smirk died a second later, blinking in shock before he burst out laughing.

"That's disgusting but, by the gods, that has to be the most hilarious thing I've seen  _all day_ ," he snorted, licking his lips and waving the gun slightly at his face. "You just pissed on yourself. You literally just  _pissed_ yourself. I thought that was like…some kind of bullshit movie scenario but look at what you just  _did_!"

The American opened and closed his mouth, shaking his head slowly, and Yami turned his attention to the doors, smirking widely. "Oh look, there they are. I was wondering when they would take your screams and the gunshot seriously. Probably thought the scuffle ended, huh?"

"Drop it."

"Which  _one_?" Yami snickered, slipping the knife into his boot as he snatched Pegasus by the shirt and pulled him in front of him with the gun pointed at Kemo, purring and running his fingers into the American's hair to grip at his skull with his fingernails. The man let out a hiss of pain and struggled but Yami knocked him off balance with a kick to the back of his knees to keep him in place.

"Aw,  _fuck_ ," Croquet murmured weakly.

"You should  _lower_ that, Kemo. I don't  _need_ to look to shoot you through the heart," he stated softly, snickering and narrowing his dangerously gleaming red eyes. "Maybe Arkana can vouch for me. If he's not already  _dead_."

Croquet glanced at the body, doubled over and vomited, and then looked ready to curl in on himself in disgust; Yami was starting to grow relatively sure that the others had no idea what they were planning to do with him. He tilted his head slightly, glancing at the handle of the knife he had slipped into his boot, seeing the carvings for a moment and ignoring the feeling of his stomach twisting in irritation at the thought of more of this.

He squeezed the trigger and the woman who had raised the gun at him fell to the ground dead; several of them all froze in place and he heard Kemo cursing but mostly his attention was on the strange noise he could hear behind him.

"Hey, Kemo, have you ever seen brain matter before?" Yami asked suddenly, tilting his head slowly.

The former bodyguard stayed silent, eyeing him and his new boss and staring pointedly straight ahead.

"Talking to you," the teen spat coldly. "Answer the question. Have you ever seen brain matter?"

"No."

"Oh,  _goody_. It can be a bonding exercise then, can't it?" Yami purred darkly. "I mean, why not when Croquet is being so kind as to  _volunteer_  for the event, right?"

The butler froze in place several feet behind him, gaping at the teen's back.

"What? You didn't  _really_ think I didn't know he was there,  _did_ you?" He pointed the small gun upside down over his shoulder, aiming without looking and knowing that it was pointed straight at Croquet's forehead. "You should be well aware, Croquet, that I am known for my deadly sense of accuracy."

"Someone grab the remote!" someone cried out, trying to bring some kind of order back to their somewhat scattered state.

"You should lower your guns before I blow  _his_ head off. And then you should be  _well aware_ that my father is not going to do business with any of you because he has this thing, called an ego that prevents him…lowering himself to interact with those who aren't of the same… _class_."

"Drop the guns!" Pegasus screamed like the coward Yami had expected him to be, immediately starting to nod and struggle; he pressed his nails further into his skin and could feel some blood slipping under his fingernails. He wrinkled his nose in annoyance both at the sensation and at the fact that just breathing the same air as this bastard made him sick.

"The remotes—where are the remotes?"

"Did you really think I was going to let you have those?" Yami sneered, rolling his eyes and flipping the gun in his hand as Croquet finally lowered his weapon to the floor and kicked it away slowly. Some of the others followed his lead but a couple more persistent people started screaming at them to pick them back up.

"Kemo, your voice is too loud. Lower it before I put a bullet through your throat, got it?" he snapped before lowering his voice, moving his mouth towards Pegasus's ear and growling softly. "You will cooperate with me or I will blow your brain across the walls, understand?"

The American nodded immediately and Yami cast one small glance at the others from the corner of his eye.

"Good. Now, walk with me. I won't drag you and if you hesitate, they're going to have a true show of brain matter, aren't they?" he hissed in his ear, leading him backwards to the end of the walkway. He didn't really think he needed to explain that if they moved he would kill them, so he kept quiet, instead pulling his leg up and slipping the knife out again, releasing Pegasus's head in favor of pressing his foot into his knee and forcing him to kneel.

He turned his attention away from them for a moment, holding the gun with the aim still perfectly aligned for any of their heads if they were to move, squeezing the trigger when someone whose name he didn't care to acknowledge made a grab for the gun nearest to them on the floor. He tossed the dagger upwards and into the railing with enough force that it shook and the hatch came undone, the stairs falling into alignment again with the residual vibrations.

Pegasus squirmed and Yami smacked him upside the back of his head with the barrel with just enough force to get the point across but not enough to truly hurt him, moving to grab the knife and gesturing for the American to start walking up the stairs.

"Get to the back wall over there and don't make any funny movements. I don't have time for games."

Pegasus turned and practically sprinted up the stairs and to the back wall while Yami followed without looking at the little "security guards". He just had to kill Pegasus and then he could do what it was that he had been kind of…well, really excited to do, in all actuality, despite how messed up it was.

Someone went to fire and he shot again, realizing suddenly that he only had one last bullet to his gun before another thought struck him; Atem had said nothing about specific orders behind Arkana being first. He said ideally that Pegasus should be killed with him but it was impossible to do that now, and it would have been impossible moments ago when he had first started this as well because they would have shot him then and there as well.

He got to where Pegasus was, sizing him up for a moment, and then realized without much acknowledgment just how weak he was and how easy it would be to do this. Pegasus couldn't run from him like this. He approached him easily, grabbing him around the throat and forcing him against the railing, crouching down in front of him and keeping his entire body still, steeled with power for what he was about to do.

The blade was gleaming and seemed to drip with blood for a second and Yami questioned his sanity for a moment because that shouldn't have been happening, but either way, he wasn't about to back out and he needed to move quickly. He shifted his grip on the knife for a moment and then chuckled and squeezed his throat when he went to move out of his grip.

"I should carve  _my_ name into your skin," Yami hissed softly. "But I won't do that, because, well, first of all, I don't have the time and second, why should I do that? I don't want my name on your carcass."

He stabbed and Pegasus screamed, a low guttural grunt coming out a second later as he snorted a laugh and turned the blade, sliding it between the ribs and pressing his weight with more focus, breaking through the bone. The American screamed again and Yami could hear them about to start for the stairs; he pulled the matchbox out of his pocket, striking it against his shoe and glancing at Pegasus as he tried to pull the knife out of his ribs.

Yami raised a brow, annoyed, and tore the knife out, taking off in a sprint for the stairs. The match hit the metal just as someone shot at him and missed by some miracle; he guessed that was the Puzzle working to protect its host, and watched as the stairs and the floor lit up in flames.

He turned back to Pegasus and Atem hissed a soft, "Embed the knife into his heart and then throw him into the flames."

The teen stiffened and turned his head, gawking for a moment as Pegasus grabbed at his throat and tried to tear the gun out of his hand, the red-eyed boy reacting with a violent slash to the side of his head with the knife. Pegasus screamed again and Atem spat a cold, "Get the fucking knife through his damn heart and run, you stupid child!"

He could hear someone the stairs. Someone was actually running up the stairs…

Yami ground his teeth together, glancing at Atem sideways, and then tried to remember the anatomy of the human body, searching his mind frantically before blinking. He had stabbed to the wrong side but that was easily rectified, wasn't it?

He raised the gun and shot off in the direction of the stairs, hearing someone scream and grunt while someone else seemed to go tumbling down the metal.

Out of bullets.

Damn. He knew he should have grabbed the extra pack of ammo he  _knew_  Arkana would have had. But to do that, he would have had to risk letting Pegasus make a run for it or draw his gun and that would have been a  _far_  stupider decision.

He narrowed his eyes slowly; his little prisoner didn't need to know it was empty just yet.

Yami turned back and stared at the American for a long minute.

"Hurry up, Yami," the spirit snarled. "Hurry up and kill him and feed him to the flames!"

The teen cast him a dirty look and then leaned forward to speak in his ear, whispering, "Cecelia's better off like this anyways" and stabbing again.

Atem snorted a disbelieving, "Must people always do such stupid things as final words?"

"It's not final words," Yami stated simply, twisting and stabbing harder to the point that Pegasus's blood coated his fingers and soaked into every cell on his hands, seeping into his being and leaving him feeling cold. "I just wanted him to know that."

The blood was seeping a little too fast.

Yami pulled the blade out slightly and then thrust it back in again, hearing some of the bones in his ribcage break around the sharpened knife. He glanced at Atem sideways and the spirit waited a long minute before nodding.

The teen watched some blood drizzle down the side of Pegasus's mouth and then pushed the knife in until the handle practically disappeared into his body, grabbing his shoulder and hip and trying to lift him over the side of the railing. Gods, he weighed a ton in death…

Yami struggled, fatigue slipping into his muscles like some kind of poison as he reached up and shoved him over the side. He stumbled, and slipped, hitting the railing and breathing hard as his hands grasped the metal tightly.

Yami stared at his fingers for a moment, wondering if blood could stain them like nicotine…

Yami ran his hand over the Puzzle for a long moment, rubbing the eye in the center and narrowing his gaze as he glanced at Atem for a split second and then turned away again. The spirit didn't surprise him, the Puzzle's sacrifice was hardly even worth his former panic as far as he was concerned aside from where Yugi was involved and it was just adjusting. He was adjusting and by doing so he was accepting the source of the hysteria.

The Puzzle.

It was survival. He was adapting to a stressful situation.

The thing was, however, that he figured, even without that the help of the Puzzle or Atem trying to lure him into it, he adapted too quickly. Surely you weren't supposed to acclimate to kidnapping and murdering several others as well as the possibility of suicide by accident that rapidly. Right?

* * *

"Hello?" he mumbled, pressing his hand against his temple and trying to stop himself from hanging up immediately to go back and see about if Yami was okay. His head throbbed again, a low sharp pulse that burned like someone had stuck a live coal in his skull.

"Hello, is this a…Yugi Motou?"

Yugi narrowed his eyes; they were actually calling…for  _him_?

"Yes."

"Oh good. I wanted to tell you that your grandfather has woken up."

The small teen stayed silent for a long minute, ignoring her as she asked, "Hello? Yugi Motou? Are you still there?"

He hung up before he really thought about it; Seto was getting the car now, or…well, actually that thing dropping out of the sky was a fucking helicopter, but who needed details anyways?

He stumbled after them in a daze, putting his arm up as wind beat at his face and threatened to flatten him to the curb; the brunet jumped inside and looked at him expectantly, Rebecca poking her head out from where she had already climbed in.

Yugi turned his head and stared down the street in the direction of the hospital before turning back to them.

Yami or his grandpa…

His skin crawled in fear. What if he chose wrong?

What if he chose his grandpa and Yami took that as a sign that he wanted nothing to do with him?

But what if he chose Yami and something went wrong with his grandpa?

He trembled once, not entirely sure it was his own body or the wind that made him do so, and then turned back slowly.

How was he supposed to choose between them anyways?

Grandpa was his only constant in life when it came down to it.

But he had already admitted he wanted Yami, that he loved the bastard.

He couldn't wrap his head around the idea of choosing…

"What are you waiting for? Come on," the blonde shouted at him, gesturing him inside as Seto curled his lip back in pure distaste.

"I should have known this was going to happen," he spat, narrowing his eyes. "You're a real piece of shit, Yugi."

He would have responded if he thought it was worth it, but Seto was wrong in his assumption; it had nothing to do with what he had told him earlier. In fact, that conversation was the last thing on his mind in the first place. He didn't care that Yami had lost control of the situation and spiraled only four times in his life, including the situation he was in now. He didn't care that Yami had killed before when he was younger, terrified out of his mind and unable to think straight. He didn't care about what Seto had revealed Yami and his two cousins doing to Ushio either.

Did Seto  _really_ think he gave a fuck that Yami had actually burned Ushio in the bathroom? That he'd literally burned his ass and practically made sure he would never have kids in the first place?

No, Yugi gave zero fucks about that, just as he had when he told him in the first place and Rebecca scrambled out of the room to vomit.

He had thought it was disgusting, yes, but then he also realized that Yami had, more or less, done it for him and he couldn't ignore that fact either. Maybe he was demented to actually see that as a good thing, a kindness, and still want Yami in his life with him, but either way, he did and he refused to second guess that.

"Seto!"

Yugi blinked in shock as Bakura and Malik and…Ryou and Marik came running up; the brunet froze in place and then cursed violently as his two cousins went after him immediately.

"What the fuck is this?" Bakura snarled, holding up something that looked like a thumbdrive that hung around his neck from a thin black cord.

"It's a fucking thumbdrive, moron," Seto snapped, glaring at Yugi and gesturing for him to make a choice.

"I meant about  _Yami_!" the silver-haired teen exploded, almost tearing the cord when he went to punch him but belatedly realized he was still holding the damn thing.

"How do you know about that?"

"Yugi's friend over there brought this over. How long have you known about this shit?"

Bakura and Malik both glanced at the small blue-violet-eyed teen who looked so tormented and in shambles that neither of them could blame him for the discovery being so sudden and strained from his friend's visit. He looked ready to cry, glancing down the street and then at the helicopter and back and forth several times.

"Goddamn it, why the fuck did you—?"

"I had to know what Duke had on Yami," Yugi breathed out before repeating the statement louder when he realized no one could hear him. "Tristan hacked his phone."

"And you didn't have him bring the phone to me instead?" Seto spat angrily. "I could have done it in half the time—"

"Contrary to your belief, Seto," Yugi snarled, feeling his heart split in two and his mind race with pain, "you're  _not_ the only one who knows how to get information from someone. And he could get it back to the damn school without Duke realizing it was gone in the first place…"

He glanced down the street and then to the helicopter again, squeezing his eyes shut; what the fuck was he supposed to do?

"You're going to find him, right?" Bakura announced, running past Seto and onto the helicopter before he could speak; the brunet let out a noise of pure anger before huffing and shaking his head as his blond cousin raced in after him.

"Uh…do we have room for all of them too?" Rebecca asked, eyes wide.

"Yes," Seto ground out before looking at Ryou and Marik in pure shock as they shot past him and fled inside as well; he leveled Yugi a harsh look of pure impatience, telling him to choose right then and there.

Yugi stared back for a moment and chose.

 _Forgive me_ …

* * *

"Kid."

Yami stopped on top of the beam and pressed his weight into the foot he had lying on top of the lighter he had dropped when the blood had proven too slick for him to grasp the smooth plastic. The massive lighter broke and the fluid ran across the beam as he finally turned around with a small glance downwards at where the others were still screaming and he could hear the flames eating their flesh, popping and crackling hungrily.

"Hello, Kemo," he greeted softly, watching him with intelligent eyes that made the former bodyguard stiffen. His face was burned violently but Yami wasn't really paying attention to this, more concerned with the fact that he had to be careful with what he did now.

The gun was cocked at him immediately and Yami wished that he just had one little bullet so he could shoot it through his brain at that moment. "You know, you did me a favor. I can get all the money rather than have to split it with all of those bitches," he murmured, smirking widely. "You have to be alive. But alive is a very…loose term. They didn't say  _how_ alive."

Yami smirked in response, nodding slowly. "I must say, Kemo, I was hardly expecting you to be in on this but then I realized that there had to be _someone_ involved in order to give these losers Seto's email in the first place and they had to be around Mokuba in order to do something to him, right?" The teen narrowed his eyes, searching his gaze for a moment as he breathed in one heavy breath that made his head throb. "You know he planned to kill you all after this was over, right? Loose ends and such. None of you were going to get paid."

"Actually, I was the one who told them that you were here," Kemo snorted, laughing. "I was too valuable to be disposed of."

Yami stared for a moment and slowly shook his head. "You think because of your knowledge about me and the fact that you worked for my cousins that you were going to be irreplaceable? You really think that the moment this was over and you were useless that he wouldn't destroy you?"

The gun went off and Yami staggered backwards a step as smoke swam in his vision, eyes widening slightly at the pain in his shoulder. He allowed his eyes to stare at the hole in his muscle and the school jacket, watching the blood spill out into the rich royal blue fabric and spread like some kind of infection.

The Puzzle pulsed painfully against his stomach, hot as the fire around it. His lungs constricted for a split second and then his head throbbed again violently. Was the Puzzle losing its strength? He only had so much energy left to feed it to influence him. And now that the ritual was almost done—he just had to get rid of Kemo before the fire went out, just had to dispose of him—he would be the  _only_ source of power for it.

Yugi wouldn't be harmed anymore…

"Accept him into your life or desert him altogether. No in between. The Puzzle can protect him if he is part of your life. You desert him altogether and he is free of any threat that may exist to you. But you should make sure to choose  _wisely_ , Yami," Atem had hissed. "It's not safe to play inconsistencies with magic. Especially not the double-sided ones."

He would choose when he was safe…

He would choose when Yugi was safe…

His skin crawled and his heart lurched, his gut twisting as he slowly raised his eyes to look at Kemo for a long moment. The flames had eaten at half of him; he wondered how he had managed to get away in the first place.

"See? This is what I mean. Alive is a loose term. Half-dead, half-alive. Either one works. See, I could bleed you until you fainted…"

Yami looked at that gun, really stared at the barrel and the sleek silver design, thought about how maybe it would be more intimidating if it had a better bullet in it, his mind circling for a moment before he focused on the fact that he was too far away to kick it out of his hand. Though the actual probability of that happening in the first place was questionable as it was after all the "shock therapy" and the Puzzle draining him and the general pain that he was in; he saw Atem in the corner of his eye, the pharaoh staring at him with a brutally concerned expression that made his skin crawl.

Yami let himself really take in that look on the spirit's face, searching and trying to redefine it mentally, trying to make it seem as if he had mistook excitement for something akin to pure terror on his behalf.

But no, the pharaoh's eyes were gleaming and his body was rigid, his jaw tense and his entire frame looking a little too shaken for Yami's liking.

Those eyes…

For the first time ever, he could really see something besides cruelty and amusement and slight discomfort…

Yami turned his attention back to Kemo slowly.

"What did I do to you anyways?"

"Nothing personal, brat," the former bodyguard laughed. "But you're related to Seto."

The teen smirked slightly. That statement alone should have warned him just how much danger he was really in.

Because, while they weren't always the best of friends and sometimes it was a strained relationship when they were around each other  _too_  often, Yami and Seto shared the brutal streak of intelligence that made them the most dangerous in the family. They were resourceful, something that not many could actively claim, and while maybe the gene could be taught, it wasn't something that could be utilized as fully as the two of them did when they were stuck in harder situations.

Yami tilted his head and stared back blankly as thick billowing gray smoke came up to the rafters and burned at his eyes slightly. The gun remained pointed at him, the only real point of interest for him at the moment.

He kind of wanted to laugh at himself because now that he was really looking at that gun and thinking about the situation he was in, all he could think about was cliché things like  _Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide_ …

He bit back some laughter and smirked widely as he commented, "I really underestimated you. I should have anticipated you knowing just exactly what it was that I was going to do to the others…"

"Your mistake," he snickered, aiming for his shoulder again.

Yami let out a soft chuckle; he really thought he was going to bleed him?

Fat chance.

He shifted slightly and pulled out one of the matches he had in his pocket; thank the gods he hadn't left them when they had dropped from the box when he had jumped up onto the rafters in the first place. Strike anywhere.

He'd have to test that theory then, wouldn't he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday  
> Fair warning, but the last couple of chapters are going to most likely be a bit or twice as long as this one.


	25. Empty Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story  
> Chapter Warning: Abuse, some Season 0 Yami, Puzzle's magic is a little darker and double-edged than expected, violence, blood, fire, guns, near death experience.  
> Okay, so, things got hectic again. Seriously hectic for a little while. *rolls eyes* And now I am officially questioning what schedules even are because apparently they don't exist in my life anymore. I honestly question what a Wednesday is now too. Because WOW.  
> ANYWAYS! Thanks for your patience :) Here is chapter twenty-five.

Chapter XXV: Empty Places

Kemo was watching him like a predator studied its prey and Yami stared at the gun with a disgruntled expression, eyes narrowing into slits and the heat of some of the smoke surrounding them making his vision slightly blurry. Embers shot up and lashed at the air among the billows of black and gray and he was pretty sure Kemo was about to pull the trigger again.

"What the hell are you doing? Don't just stand there!" Atem snarled, looking like a scared cat, eyes wild and frantic as he looked at the two of them and bristled. "Move! Do something, you stupid child!"

Yami didn't respond to him, waiting for a moment; the gun went off—missing by some miracle that Yami once again suspected was the Puzzle—and his shoulder burned violently just as his nail scraped over the match head. It caught fire, burning his thumb with a sharp crackling noise and the teen dropped it, stepping back just before the beam caught on fire.

Kemo snarled loudly in irritation and Yami covered his mouth as smoke shot upwards between them, bits of it catching fire, the flames almost seeming to eat at each other before growing larger; the teen staggered backwards, eyes watering furiously as he struggled not to cough and let the former bodyguard know just where he was as he started running.

He staggered and tripped, tired out of his mind and nearly losing his balance to go tumbling over the side of the beam. He couldn't see where he was going now that the smoke was getting thicker and he was pretty sure Kemo was still behind him somewhere, probably at one end of a beam and looking for him.

Yami dropped to his knees, trying to feel a path because he thought somewhere in the back of his mind that he was about to come across a small turn in the metal workings. But the more he searched for it, the more off balance he was getting and his head was starting to hurt.

He honestly couldn't even see the metal that he was touching and the lack of sight did nothing to comfort him. The Puzzle flashed and turned cold as ice against his fingers when he moved to touch the space in front of him again. The edges were burning against his flesh now that he was paying attention to it but he couldn't stop to wonder and his lungs were burning.

His shoulder throbbed violently and his head was starting to hurt some more. He slipped forward a few paces, bunching his body together in an effort to make himself smaller and try to figure out where the hell he was.

An ember sparked against his skin and he flinched, letting out a ragged breath even as he tried not to cough, swallowing against the way that the smoke burning in his lungs and his stomach twisted like something was moving inside of it. He had a moment where a vivid vision of a dark black snake-like creature with glowing yellow eyes writhed and moved around but it fled away from him just as fast a moment later, leaving him relieved and startled.

Vaguely his mind connected the fact that he had come across the turn just as he slipped and tumbled forward. He hit the ground on his back, head slamming into the metal violently, the crane connected to the railing shaking harshly, the chain rattling. He scrambled as Atem yelled, "Fuck, move!" and the bullet that hit the chain next to him had his skin crawling as he stumbled forward.

Another shot came off and Yami realized only belatedly how stupid a decision it was to start moving like he was; his side erupted in pain and a cry of pain came out before he could stop it, his body tumbling forward and hitting the ground in a tangle of limbs.

The fire lashed out at his skin, seizing and biting, burning and licking as the smoke made his lungs feel heavy and weighted. The thick billows of black burned his eyes and the Puzzle was flashing between fire and ice, something that Yami couldn't quite wrap his head around as he started drifting.

A shot fired…

* * *

"Bloody hell," Ryou cried in shock, gawking as the glass in the skylight broke suddenly, shattering like drops of gleaming ice; Rebecca shot forward and pressed her entire face against the window, wincing and glancing at the others.

The helicopter was lowering and Bakura and Malik were both watching the smoke that came out, the way that some of the flames curled upwards and out of the glass, striking at the sky.

"Wait!" Seto yelled, hissing and shaking his head as he slipped past him and ran straight for the warehouse; son of a fucking bitch. He debated following but caught Mokuba around the arm instead as he went to follow, refusing to let go even as his little brother tried to claw his arm off, wide eyes full of tears.

"Goddamn it…"

He grabbed at the handle, a stupid idea that bit him in the ass the moment that his skin came into contact with it; the heat would blister his palm, he knew that already. He hissed and pulled the sleeve of his jacket up to cover the skin and bit back a snarl as he threw the door open.

Flames lashed out at him immediately, smoke hitting him hard enough that he staggered and coughed, wincing before choking and squeezing his eyes shut; by the gods, how had he managed to convince himself this was a good fucking idea?

He shook it off and ignored the way that the flames curled against his skin and bit at his flesh, violent little nips that left him dazed as he started forward, ignoring it all and peering through his lashes. His eyes were watering and it gave the fire a strange look as if it were curling away from him and dancing around him all at once, the embers in the fire looking liquid but solid all at once, nonexistent but burning all the same.

He staggered a step, trying to get past his initial blindness, squinting harder and straining his eyes; there was something off about the fire. He couldn't place it immediately, instead reaching up to wipe at his eyes and peer again, spotting it immediately this time.

It was curling away form something, dancing lithely at its side but never touching, and he couldn't wrap his head around what it was. He choked on some smoke and coughed loudly, swallowing hard before glancing around; the flames weren't touching him anymore either…

He shook the idea off and started for the spot where the flames were…shying away from whatever was there; the moment he stepped forward, he felt himself go still. There was blood and the fire was practically  _recoiling_ away from it.

He hurried forward, holding his breath and imagining that he could feel the way that the smoke was clinging to the walls of his lungs, burying itself in his cells…

Something tripped him and he fell forward on his hands and knees, growing horrified when his eyes fell across the darkened fire-eaten bones that looked ready to break at the slightest touch.

He swallowed hard and struggled to get to his feet again, feeling weak in the knees as he stumbled forward a step, trembling; if he found Yami like that…

There was something like a gun going off and he ducked instinctively, hitting the ground and flinching as blood soaked the sleeves of his jacket; he looked upwards but couldn't find anyone and the fire was roaring loudly in his ears now. But at least the air quality was good from where he was on the ground, right?

He struggled forward in a crawl, tired and half-blinded by the smoke and the light of the flames; how were they this bright? He didn't think that fires were so fucking bright. They didn't look it in movies, that much was for sure.

He froze.

 _Yami_.

He scrambled forward, feeling the blood that soaked his fingers and his knees, leaning forward and reaching out to grab him. Whatever that loud noise was, it went off again and he covered his head with his hands, trying to make himself as small as possible in order to avoid being aimed at.

He breathed hard and the stench of Yami's blood, his clothes and the smoke hit his nose so sharply that he nearly sneezed but fought it off at the last second, drawing in a deep breath and raising his head just enough to see the red-eyed teen.

He was laying on his back, but it looked like he had attempted to try to move at some point because his upper body was turned and his right arm was tucked beneath his head with his hand in his hair, left arm stretched out slightly, and it took him a moment to realize that one of his legs was pulled up the tiniest bit.

Yes, he had tried to move…

So he had to still be alive, right?

"Yami?" he coughed out, fighting back a groan at the feel of the heat that made his skin crawl and sweat start to bead. "Shit, come on, Yami…"

He was pretty sure that he didn't have the strength to carry him or drag him and with the way that the flames seemed to be eating at every little bit of energy he had, weighing him down and making him all but completely blind, that he wouldn't make it that far either.

Maybe he could just lay down next to him and they could just both get eaten away by the flames.

He crawled forward and grasped at him, trying to grab his arms, feeling sick to his stomach when the teen didn't react. Was he breathing? Was he…?

He shook the thought off and grabbed at his sides, attempting to pull him forward and failing miserably at the feel of his body losing strength again. He glanced upwards, towards the rafters, the flames hurting his eyes with just how intense they had grown and the way that the smoke burned and lashed out at him.

"Yami…"

Was it so horrible that he would rather lay with him and get eaten away than save himself?

He reached over and tipped Yami's head up, surprised when the eyelids flickered and he found himself staring at a pair of dark glazed over red irises with the tiniest touch of pupils, the crimson seeming to glow even inside those tiny slits.

He was alive…

"Yami…"

The teen stared back at him sightlessly, eyes still only open into slits, gaze shadowed by his long lashes.

He moved forward slightly and grabbed him under his arms, rolling him onto his back and trying to pull him forward; he was so tired, so terribly tired…

"…Yu…gi…"

He couldn't tell if he was saying it because he saw him or if that was the last thing he wished to say, but either way, it scared the hell out of the smaller teen as he shivered and looked at him. Yami was still looking at him but the more he tried to figure out the word that had escaped his lips, the less he could find. The blue-violet-eyed teen coughed once and then tried to pull himself to his feet in order to really attempt dragging him out, but his knees were weak and he found himself nearly landing on top of the taller boy when he fell back again

Oh gods…

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Yugi couldn't figure out what hurt worse, the fact that he was going to be next to him when he died or the fact that he was actually starting to agree with the thought that he wished Yami had never met him in the first place, because he didn't really think that Yami would have been targeted if they hadn't been paired together for that project, if he hadn't let him sleep with him the first time when he was drunk.

Yami closed his eyes, letting out a raspy noise that sounded slick with something that Yugi worried was blood from an internal wound.

If he hadn't hesitated when the helicopter had come, would Yami have been okay…?

Yugi tried again, attempting to push his weight into his legs, feeling lightheaded from his lack of strength and the flames, the heat, his own tired responses…

He got a step backwards, dragging Yami with him, and breathed hard at the strain in his muscles; his head was starting to throb and splinter with pain and his lungs hurt.

At least this way he could truly say he tried, that he had attempted to save the other teen, that he hadn't just given up.

Not that he figured it really mattered when it came down to it; if they were both dead, he doubted it mattered…

Wasn't there a trial or something to get inside of the Egyptian afterlife? Something about questions…?

Yugi stumbled back a step but managed to keep his leg from buckling beneath him, pulling again and panting, eyes watering.

"Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife," a voice whispered in his ear, low and smooth, baritone and oddly like Yami's, making him shiver as he glanced at the teen; he wasn't moving. The red-eyed teen wasn't moving so he wasn't the one talking…

"The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?'"

Yugi winced as an ember shot past his eye; Yami was so heavy and his body was so tired…

"The second was, 'Did you find joy?'"

He ignored the way his lungs stung, drawing in another breath and squeezing his eyes shut; he had to be hallucinating. His head was swimming but in the center of his thoughts, burning and branding itself in his mind, was the eye that made up the center of the Puzzle.

And it was opening.

What was meant to be the pupil and the whites was glowing, an eerie white-blue shade with golden forks of light like lightning, all of it spearing outwards for split seconds before fading again and coming back around once more.

If he was going to die, then at least there was something entertaining to watch behind his eyelids as his life faded…

Did you bring joy?

Did you find joy?

He wondered how one went about answering that kind of question; what happened if the answers to both were no? If they couldn't continue on to the afterlife, did that mean that they ended up in the underworld or something like that?

Wait, what the hell was the difference between those two?

He dragged Yami back another step and swallowed hard against the burn in his throat, breathing harshly for a moment before managing another small step.

His leg nearly buckled but managed to keep his balance, moving to grip Yami tighter and hissing in dissatisfaction when he felt his fingers awkwardly splay over the red-eyed teen's chest, his heart weak and beats spaced so far between that he almost thought he had died in his arms.

Yugi glanced back towards the door; he thought he could hear voices but he couldn't tell if it was from outside or in and when he tried to focus on them, they blurred and grew dead beneath the roar of the flames around him.

The doors seemed so far away but that could have been the smoke; Yugi wanted to pretend it was, if only because it made this entire thing seem so much more manageable. What happened if he couldn't get Yami out of the warehouse? He wasn't about to leave him.

So he guessed they would just die here…

Because obviously the others couldn't get inside or they would have done so…right?

His next thought of whether or not they would just leave him and his cousin there to burn made him feel so stupid that it left him in a daze. He rattled a laugh out of his strained lungs and coughed violently, feeling sick to his stomach before drawing in a deep enough breath that his head spun with the feel of it in his lungs.

Yami's body convulsed suddenly, making him jerk forward and stumble, bracing himself on one knee while the red-eyed teen hacked and shivered, threatening to throw him backwards with the force of it. Yugi ground his teeth together and glanced around just as one of the beams broke and the metal groaned loudly enough that it put the fire to shame. He found himself trembling as the massive metal fell right next to his shoulder, clipping his arm and leaving it throbbing.

The entire place was falling apart.

Of course it was.

He didn't know what he had expected from the entire situation.

Anything less would have been completely stupid.

Something else screamed and jerked, something fell and tumbled to the ground and he cold hear bolts coming undone and hitting the concrete; he swore the fire shouted around him and tried to tear at his conscious, tried to eat away at his thoughts…

Yugi trembled again and Yami vomited; he heard it but he couldn't understand it among the roar of flames and the sound of metal falling apart. Glass broke somewhere and he guessed that it was one of the windows…

He pushed himself to his feet again and Yami convulsed again but Yugi ignored it, breathing hard and glancing around once; the flames still weren't touching them. They were just far away enough that they failed to reach their skin but the heat was blistering and the smoke was so thick…

He coughed and forced himself to drag the other teen backwards another step.

He wasn't exactly sure what the hell had made him think it was a good idea to come running straight into the damn warehouse in the first place, especially since he was still so fucking tired, but he hadn't thought about it and now here he was.

Yami shivered and breathed out a weak "I'm…sorry…" that he shouldn't have been able to hear but was so completely aware of that he couldn't even think straight.

"Shut up," he spat, flinching at his own tone and glancing over his shoulder as he dragged him again; if he could just move a little further…

"I'm sorry…"

"I said shut up," he snapped, struggling for another step and panting harshly; he swore if they got out of here, he was never letting Yami leave the house on his own again. Fucking bastard, getting them dragged into a situation like this.

Wait until the last second  _his ass_.

Yugi tugged him a couple more steps back and let out a shout of shock and pain when someone grabbed his sides. He was jerked backwards and off his feet, hitting the ground on his ass and somehow managing to keep his grip on Yami in the meantime.

"Fucking hell he's heavy," someone muttered, grabbing him again and pulling him backwards; Yugi tightened his grip on Yami, breathing hard as the other teen remained motionless.

"Bakura," Ryou muttered, snapping his fingers at the silver-haired teen who was staring at the two of them with shocked eyes, unable to look away; the smaller albino blinked and grabbed at his sleeve, jolting him out of his daze and making him turn his head slowly to stare at him blankly. "I need to stop the bleeding."

Yugi shakily released him when the other instructed him to, Rebecca helping him to his feet and leading him a couple of steps away to stare at them. Ryou was checking his pulse and Yami was lying there practically motionless aside from several small inhales that made Yugi want to drop to his knees. He wasn't breathing right…

If he died…

No, no, Ryou would figure something out, right? After all, he  _was_ planning to become a doctor, right? Surely the albino knew something of what he was doing, right?

Yugi was going to be sick.

He was putting his faith in a boy who he didn't even know who may or may not have been a threat to Yami at one point or another…

He tipped the teen's head to the side and pulled at his jacket, stripping him of it before bunching his shirt up and looking over the bleeding flesh wound; it was small but he was obviously bleeding a lot and Ryou had to admit that it was more than a little disturbing to see something like this. It had gone straight through his side, a graze wound, but it had to have hurt pretty fucking badly…

And the blood…

There was so much blood, not that he didn't doubt Yami had vomited it up at some point considering that he had gotten it all over his legs as well and from what he could see, there was no reason for there to be blood there unless he had thrown up on himself by accident.

"Okay, I need you to cover his shoulder. Apply enough pressure to help stifle the bleeding," Ryou stated, eyes wide as he glanced at Bakura who nodded shakily from where he was sitting on the other side of the red-eyed teen, facing him and looking slightly green; Yami was just barely breathing…

His fingers were trembling slightly as he applied force and winced at the way that he could feel the wound without even thinking about it; so much blood, so much flesh open and showing. He nearly choked in disgust and clenched his eyes shut after a moment. He was going to be sick…

"Keep applying pressure," the smaller albino stated, looking a little shaken himself. "I need to check his airways…"

Yugi felt his stomach twist with worry, heart skipping a beat and mouth growing dry as he watched with wide eyes; he was so absorbed in watching that he almost didn't catch Seto's cold greeting.

"I was expecting you to skip out."

"He is still my son."

The small teen froze in place, head snapping in the direction of the newcomer, eyes widening drastically as he took in the tall, bearded form of the Egyptian ambassador, spine tingling painfully as he opened and closed his mouth once. His dark gray eyes were focused on his son but Yugi knew that he was aware of him being there.

There was no way he wasn't.

"Shit, Yugi, I need your help," Ryou murmured, eyes wide as he gestured him over wildly. The small teen stumbled, unsure of himself for a moment, but didn't hesitate to crouch at the unconscious teen's side. "Hold the jacket against his wound, okay? Keep the pressure constant. I need to make sure he stops bleeding…"

He nodded absently, ignoring him for the most part before pressing his weight into it, feeling the soaked cloth rub against his skin; for a split second he swore he could feel it seeping into his skin like water.

Ryou honestly didn't want to do it but he moved to tip Yami's head to the side and grip his jaw, finding that the muscles gave way almost immediately when he opened it. He really wished he had some kind of medical instruments to do this more professionally but in the classes he had taken in Britain and the camps he had gone to over summers, he knew at least a little of the procedure without need of them. He pulled his mouth open further and swore he heard Yugi whispering apologies under his breath, assuming that Bakura heard them as well, though maybe that was wrong because he looked far too shaken to really even pay attention to anything around him.

He yelped and recoiled when the teeth clamped down on his fingers, startling him out of his thoughts and making him wince; Yami's eyes were open and blazing but sightless all at once, the pupils appearing almost to have bled into his irises and making them look strange. The gray film that had covered them before when he had regained consciousness in the cafeteria before was there in the slightest, small bit, but the most alarming thing was the color of his pupils and how they appeared almost tugged in every direction to eat at the dark red of his irises.

Yugi caught his hand and held it there when he went to push Ryou away from him; his fingers weakly grasped and his nails dug into his skin for a second but he couldn't make him release and when he tried again, the smaller teen realized that Bakura was blocking his arm as well.

"Get off of me," Yami hissed through his teeth, looking dazed and confused for a second as he glanced between them all, breathing in a rough breath that sounded like a scratchy whistle of a noise. Ryou snatched his finger out from between his teeth the moment that Yami groaned softly, shaking his fingers out and biting back a hiss of pain.

"Bakura…?"

"Yeah, right here."

Yami blinked up at them both and then froze in place, eyes wide as he opened and closed his mouth and then groaned and turned his face away. There were two of them. Why were there two of them?

"Yami, it's nice to finally actually meet you. I'm Ryou. We're not related."

Bakura bit off some laughter and Yugi wanted to smile but his body was too weighed down and he couldn't make himself move his lips, instead squeezing Yami's hand weakly and feeling his fingers loosen their grip from where they had been digging into his skin. The smaller teen weakly moved to lace their fingers together, momentarily rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand as Yami made a weak rasping noise and coughed loudly.

Ryou wondered if he was the only one who was actually paying enough attention to realize how Yami was very slowly growing slightly more aware as he and Yugi remained touching. Maybe he was seeing something where there was nothing, but he was pretty sure that was exactly what was happening.

It was mystifying but he didn't bother to ask, instead glancing between Yami and Yugi and then Bakura who was still studying his cousin with dark eyes.

"My side hurts," Yami muttered softly, opening his eyes into slits and peering at them through his lashes; Yugi shivered slightly and could tell that the ambassador was watching him with a dark look but no one mentioned it and he refused to truly acknowledge it.

"You got shot," Ryou stated quietly, reaching up to rub at his temple and flinching when he let out a gargling rumble of a snarl of pure anger. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"He's a bitch when he's hurt," Malik commented, standing a few feet away and watching them with a relieved but still relatively horrified expression. "Just don't worry about it. Keep checking on him."

Yami reached up and shoved Ryou off of him roughly with his free hand, breathing hard and struggling to sit up. Bakura shoved him back down and Yugi moved his freer hand over to grasp the soiled school jacket, pressing against it and hoping to make it clot some of the blood again.

"Hey!" Ryou objected, glaring at his taller look-alike. "Don't do that!"

"Stay still, moron," the other boy snapped at his cousin.

"Then stop fucking touching me so much," Yami spat, turning his head away from them and trying to bury it in his dark gray t-shirt; he bared his teeth and snarled that raspy quivering noise that sounded like blood gurgling through his throat. "Who the fuck is touching my side?"

Yugi stayed quiet, ignoring him and fussing with the fact that his knees were becoming stained with the deep red of his blood; he was starting to bleed so much more than he had been prepared for…

"Yugi is," Ryou stated calmly. "He's just trying to stop the bleeding."

Yami scoffed a quiet "Oh yeah, good luck with that" but didn't object further, bristling slightly. He didn't open his mouth or speak for a moment, instead breathing roughly a couple of times before squeezing his hand. Yugi blinked a couple of times before returning the gesture a moment later, frowning as the taller teen remained turned away and his grip lessened.

"See, I have a little trouble understanding how exactly that works," Seto commented, turning his head and leveling the ambassador with a glare. "After you disown someone, that means—"

"He nearly cost me fifty million dollars," Yami's father snarled softly. "I was pulled into this mess. And he is the last of the Sennen line, isn't he? I may have disowned him, but I still need him alive if for nothing other than to keep my family lineage alive."

"You selfish bastard."

"Welcome to the world of politics, Seto  _Kaiba_ ," he sneered. "Where greed and power are the only things that matter."

Yami shifted awkwardly and drew his leg up, knees tingling and muscles straining with the effort of even this small a movement. Yugi glanced at his leg and vaguely had the feeling he should check on him but fought the idea off at the last moment. He was too tired to do more than squeeze his hand again in some vain attempt to comfort and give him some small bit of strength that he could spare.

"You okay?" Yugi muttered quietly, the red-eyed teen turning his head and staring at him through his lashes, watching him for a long moment before nodding and looking away again. Okay, okay; that was good…

He shook off the small bit of doubt and fear that crept into his stomach. Yami would be okay…

"Let go of him."

Yami shifted slightly to try to pull himself into a seated position and Yugi turned his head with wide eyes towards the ambassador that was approaching them; Ryou and Bakura both glanced up just as the red-eyed teen managed to bring himself up slightly. He moved to pull his legs up and Yugi caught him by the back, holding him up and growing slightly unnerved by the way that Yami stared at him.

His red eyes were startled and the pupils appeared somewhat scattered, the usual hue a little darker with that strange gray that they always seemed to get when he was wearing the Puzzle. His lips were parted slightly and Yugi couldn't tell if he was breathing through his mouth or not, but he could see that there was a small bit of blood that was about to come out at any moment.

Yugi impulsively reached for his mouth and wiped at the small bit of red there, swallowing hard and forcing himself not to tremble when the other boy blinked slowly once and then glanced towards the newcomer; the taller boy reached over and pushed Bakura away from him, stumbling and breathing hard once. Reflexively Yugi went to help but Yami ignored him and straightened, watching the other member of the Sennen family with his eyes narrowed into slits.

"What are you doing here?"

The ambassador leveled Yugi a cold look and then turned his attention back to Yami slowly. "You know damn well why I am here, boy."

The red-eyed teen breathed harshly once and tilted his head slowly, feeling his spine tingle with pain and alarm; he was tired and he was pretty sure he looked like shit, but he couldn't care less at the moment and if he showed weakness, his father would tear him into pieces the first chance he got. Yami curled his lip and tensed his body slightly. The Puzzle weakly pulsed against his abdomen but it seemed stronger than it had the moment he had fallen from the beam.

He guessed that might have been Yugi's presence or the fact that his father posed a rather massive threat to him at the moment, but either way, he couldn't find it in himself to truly care.

"You came all the way here for your disowned, homosexual son because of fifty million dollars. That's adorable," Yami hissed, voice growing guttural as it lowered into a snarl. "You're pathetic. Coming here was a waste of your time—"

"When you get back to Egypt, you will be cleansed of your unnatural ways," he cut him off in a gruff voice, making Yami's eyes stretch wide in surprise at the statement before he bristled in annoyance. "You will marry Kisara and—"

"You and Kisara can kiss my ass," the red-eyed teen spat, baring his teeth. "I make no plans to do any of that. I will not return to Egypt with you."

Yugi swallowed hard and wondered if he should attempt getting up or not, looking up at the taller teen with wide eyes; if his dad really managed to drag him all the way back to Egypt, then he knew that he would never see him again. That may have been the last thing that Yugi wanted to happen, but it seemed so plausible at the moment that his lungs felt as if they had caved in and his head swam with worry. He needed Yami in his life; he had proven that the moment that he had chosen him instead of his grandpa like he had, something that he had never done before. No one had ever come before his grandpa and now his stomach twisted with fear at the very thought that Yami might slip through his fingers at any moment.

"You can't force him to go to Egypt against his will," Seto announced, narrowing his eyes into slits and casting his cousin a small glance; he looked ready to drop at any moment but it was probably his relentless stubbornness that kept him upright as it was. "Yami is emancipated. You have no right to make any decisions that concern him or his life. He is free to do as he wants."

"He has no idea what he fucking wants!" the ambassador sneered. "If he had any clue he wouldn't have shamed us like this."

"You can't just claim Yami is gay to deliberately fuck you over," the brunet snapped coldly, hoping that Yami would just take a seat and calm down some; he looked ready to start trembling at any moment as it was and he wasn't in the mood to have to catch him if he toppled over, though he guessed that Yugi would do it. "That's not how homosexuality works."

"We raised him right," the ambassador spat, turning his eyes on Yami and narrowing them as his lips curled back in distaste and his voice lowered menacingly. "He was just too stupid to realize just how to put our teachings into action."

Yami wanted to argue but Seto seemed to be doing a good enough job for him that he felt it was safe to step back a couple of times and slowly lower himself into a seated position, feeling sick to his stomach as it flipped inside of him and his heart pumped a little too fast. His head was starting to feel light and a little stuffy as the Puzzle began to grow slightly cold, his fingers reaching up to faintly feel the form of the eye in the center, watching as his father turned his attention to his cousin and refused to back down from the argument that came with the action.

"You are the one who fucked up," the brunet snapped coldly, grabbing Mokuba's arm when he went to try to get to Yami's side; his brother gave him a desperate look but settled when Seto didn't so much as acknowledge it. "You've always taught him wrong. You are the screw up, not Yami. It should come as no surprise that maybe if you had not messed up so badly none of this would have happened."

"You have no idea what you are even talking about."

Yugi moved to touch Yami's arm only after he was sure that the ambassador's ego was going to prevent him looking away from the confrontation that Seto brought with him. Bakura and Ryou both glanced at him for a split second, Ryou's eyes soft and encouraging while Bakura's shown with a glittering coldness that made his skin crawl.

"Hey."

Yami turned his head towards him slowly, at first still staring at the two family members as they offered argument after argument, their verbal spat growing slightly louder. At first he looked confused by his presence, almost as if he had thought that he was some kind of figment of his imagination, and then slowly offered a weak smile. "Hi," he muttered, voice coming out gruff and scratchy from his sore throat, a small touch of his blood underlining his tone enough that it sounded slightly wet.

Yugi was unsure of what to do even as his eyes took in the way that the other boy's face was bruised and the right side was covered in soot from where he had been lying on the floor when he had found him. The smaller teen wasn't oblivious to the fact that Yami had his body twisted strangely, spine curved forward and arms pressed tightly into his sides, his torso turned only enough that he could notice it, his head tilted slightly and his shoulder looking strained as his skin grew a little pale, the wound obviously bothering him. But his eyes worried him more, widened with a gleam of confusion that made his chest ache, a tiny hint of fear lingering around his pupils and slight adoration behind a glassy exterior that shook him to his core.

Yami studied him for a moment and then finally looked away, turning his attention towards the Puzzle around his neck, watching as his fingers grasped at the golden upside down pyramid pendant, the blood unconsciously dragged in four long streaks of bright red for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked softly, moving a little closer and watching as Yami stared in confusion before very slowly lifting his head and blinking. His fingers trembled against the thick golden chain with his other hand and the smaller teen was half-convinced that he was going to end up choking himself with the way that he started unconsciously pulling lightly at the thick gold.

"…I am," Yami stated quietly, eyes flickering away and settling on the warehouse, watching as the flames poured out of the open places where the former windows had prevented them. The red-eyed teen watched the way they danced against the blue sky and the distortion of the heat made the sky look fuzzy while the black smoke was rapidly billowing out and tainting it all.

"Good."

Yami tilted his head towards him slowly and searched his face for a moment before lowering his hand to the Puzzle and resting his fingers over the eye again; Atem mentioned the Eye but what the hell was the Eye? Was it the Puzzle's center piece or was it something else?

He had no idea what the hell he was looking for when he had attacked Pegasus in the first place, but now he was worried that he had fucked up somewhere. And Kemo…had he died? Was he still somehow alive somewhere inside of that warehouse? Maybe he had escaped using one of the windows, gotten out and…

Yami shook the idea off; where would he have gone had he gotten out of the window? The drop would have broken his legs if he landed on them. It would have broken any bone he had actually landed on.

Yami tilted his head and stared at the flames, the smoke, and then dragged his gaze towards Yugi slowly, studying the smaller boy. He straightened slightly, alarmed by whatever he saw in his eyes, and the taller teen felt guilt eat his insides. What was he supposed to do to him? Make him remain in his life? But if he could somehow do that despite Rebecca's presence, how would he manage to keep Yugi with him to the point that the Puzzle demanded nothing more? If he abandoned him, he supposed that Yugi would get over it rather easily, but why the hell would he have gone into the warehouse to get him in the first place?

"Is it?" he wondered quietly, searching his face and turning away after a moment.

Was it a good thing that he had survived? That he was okay?

If it meant that Yugi got hurt or that his life was controlled by the hunk of metal around his neck, was that truly worth his survival?

Yami honestly doubted it because maybe it would have been so much better if the flames had eaten him alive, if Yugi had not made it in time. But then there was the startling second guess that made his skin crawl with worry; if he had died in the fire, would Yugi have recovered from it?

He didn't think they were inseparable or anything of the sort because he was pretty sure they weren't by any means, but he still wondered if Yugi stumbling across his dead body wouldn't have been that window of shock and fear open just long enough for him to get himself hurt and killed as well.

How had he gotten in there anyways? Obviously he had used the door but how had he managed to get to him like that? Was it the Puzzle that had led him to him?

Yami's stomach twisted and his eyes lowered to it slowly, studying as his eyes narrowed slightly and his jaw clenched momentarily. If the Puzzle had led Yugi to him and Atem's words were right about them being bound, then maybe the Puzzle was the only reason that he even held an interest in him in the first place. Perhaps the Puzzle had made them this way, mutilated their true thought processes and drawn them into this somewhat dangerous little love-hate relationship thing that they had been indulging themselves in. If that was true…

Then what the hell of his emotions were actually  _real_?

What of Yugi's were real for that matter?

Yugi went to open his mouth, to answer this question, but fell short, glancing at the warehouse over his shoulder with a slightly worried expression; had Yami wanted to die? Was that why he had told them to wait until the last second? Was that why he had started the fire with no real hope of escape?

Was that why he had actually  _let_  himself get caught by Arkana?

Yugi had no doubt that if he had tried his hardest, he could have fought the man off and escaped or captured him instead, but he had let himself get drawn into this ransom situation.

"How is your side?" he managed to mutter, turning his head to study the other male who shrugged a little and glanced at it without much thought.

"It stings like a motherfucking bitch."

Yugi's lips twisted into a wide grin for a moment, feeling almost bad for it but unable to keep the amusement off his face. "Yeah, I bet," he commented teasingly, almost wanting to joke but feeling as if it might have been a little too inappropriate.

Yami twisted slightly and ran his fingers over his side, looking over the way that his blood soaked his fingers, mingling with the blood that had already been there, staining his skin. He fought off a wry smile; so much like nicotine…

"You caught a fucking building on fire," the smaller teen suddenly muttered as if he hadn't really acknowledged that before.

"That I did," he agreed, glancing at him and smirking slightly.

He couldn't help it when he teased, "You told me you were a firefighter. You lying asshole. Firefighters don't start fires."

Yami blinked in confusion, the curve of his lips nearly falling before he remembered Yugi's drunk state when he had been at his house; the taller teen snickered and shook his head. "I'll have to quit my day job then. Apparently I fucked it up."

Yugi smiled but looked beyond disturbed now, reaching out to touch his side now as well; Yami felt his skin twitch against his fingers but didn't do anything to pull away, more than a little surprised by the smaller boy's contact with him.

"He actually shot you," he muttered, somewhat awed as he stared at the flesh wound and his fingers, pulling back and really looking them over with an amazed expression. "I mean, he just grazed you and the one on your shoulder isn't nearly as bad as it could have been and you aren't dead, just bleeding a lot."

… _What if he bleeds out_ …?

"He got me when I landed on the walkway," Yami stated quietly, turning away and feeling his heart settle from where it had been shaking unsteadily inside his chest, weak and startled, almost as if it were going to give out at any moment; he didn't know if that was his stress making it like that or if it was actually Yugi's presence or what but either way, it was calming now. That didn't help with the twisting of his stomach or the ache in his throat, the way that his lungs felt full of something but empty all at once, the fact that his fingers were actually trembling so hard that he was curious as to why Yugi hadn't noticed yet. "I made too much noise, I suppose, alerted him to where I was, and he shot me when I was trying to move out of the way. I think I managed to get to the stairs before then or maybe I moved afterwards…I don't really know, but either way, I ended up going down the stairs. I didn't even realize that the stairs had a bend to them—well, I did, I guess, but I didn't really think about it before I ran into it. Ra, do you realize how badly it fucks you up when you go rolling down a flight only to hit the railing and go down the other direction too? I'm going to have fucking bruises all over."

"You're more worried about bruises than a gunshot," Yugi murmured, laughing softly and giving him a look of keen adoration that made his stomach twist and his heart sink; was that actually real or was the Puzzle influencing him?

"Bitch please. This is a flesh wound," Yami stated dismissively, waving his hand and then glancing at his side for a moment when he realized he couldn't look at his face anymore without feeling such intense guilt and doubt. "This one too."

Yugi bit back his initial response of snapping that flesh wounds did not bleed nearly as much as those two, instead settling for remaining silent out of fear of Yami withdrawing if he were to do so; he forced himself to let out a weak laugh and smile because at least he was getting the chance to talk to him again. Yugi fought against the urge to vomit for a moment; he hadn't thought that he would see the stupid red-eyed bastard ever again. He had thought he was going to die, whether by fucking with their heads until they couldn't take it anymore or by accident during his nightly run around the warehouse or simply because his father wouldn't come. And yet, here he was, right in front of him, speaking and breathing, looking around and touching the Puzzle around his neck, listening to his family members quarreling and bleeding like crazy.

Yugi was pretty sure you weren't supposed to bleed that much.

He fought off a shiver when he looked down and saw that the Puzzle seemed to glow at the touch of Yami's blood when he ran his fingers over the eye again.

Yami's head thrummed with pain for a second as images of the flames danced across his vision and his lungs twitched, shaking, inside his chest. They licked the faded gasoline-coated floor with thick blackened powdery ashes that were thrown up by currents of heated air from where they fire ate at the building. In the waves of distortion that cloaked his eyes and burned the air with searing heat, the orange and red and yellow of the flames had taken on the appearance of a flock of brightly colored birds, fanning out and beating the walls and floor and everything around him with fiery wings.

The smoke swirled in his lungs and dragged at his awareness, too thick to be ignored, making him want to choke and suffocating him for a moment as if he were trying to breathe underwater. His head swam with pain at the scent of burning gas and ash and  _flesh_ , the smoke forming an almost corporeal barrier separating him from the rest of the warehouse as he fell, seeming to tumble through the darkness for hours before landing on the solid metal.

A few flames shot up in front of him, at him, threatening to burn him as it had done the others, Atem was screaming in his ear out of shock and panic, and he scrambled just as his side sent a shot of pure pain through his entire body as if it were all connected to that one spot.

He had stumbled and his legs, tired and heavy with the strain of supporting his weight with so little to go on, shook and gave way like leaves in the wind, his entire body tumbling forward and down the stairs. The metal sound of his body colliding with it, of his flesh bruising and a bone popping out of place rang in his ears, the pain exploding in every muscle of his body. His head collided with a part of the railing but the momentum of the fall, the angle of the shot, made him continue his fall, his limbs momentarily tangling with the metal bars before something forced him down the rest of the steps. When he had landed on the ground, the flames lapped at his skin only for a second before seeming to scream in distaste, the sound of them leaping and crackling growing too loud for him to think straight.

It had taken him a few long minutes to even realize that his limbs were tied together, his arms awkwardly crossed and tangled around his neck and caught in the Puzzle's thick chain to the point that even trying to move them made him choke. His legs were caught and held hostage by the last bar of railing and his right leg was bent so that his foot was folded under and the sole of his shoe was trapped beneath his ass.

His eyes were still half-open when the fire danced and raged, screaming again as he noticed the taste of blood in his mouth; he had to have bitten his tongue at some point because it was swelling and he couldn't think of another reason for it to do so. The sound of crackles and hisses made his head throb and he weakly moved his hands to attempt to untangle himself.

The gunshot fired had been just enough to lure him into awareness when he was starting to slip away; his limbs were heavy but he pulled himself into a more collected position, trying to put his strength into it and force himself to his hands and knees.

Yami thought maybe he had gotten halfway to that point before he had blacked out completely…

"Yami."

For a moment he didn't understand the noise, his mind not connecting it and recognition failing him completely as he tilted his head and listened. A small, warm hand grabbed his shoulder and squeezed once, a worried voice repeating his name with the tiniest of tremors, bringing him back to reality slowly but surely. He slowly turned his attention to the smaller boy, confused by the widened eyes full of concern.

"You piece of shit," Yugi spat. "You fucking scared the hell out of me."

Yami blinked once, confused by the statement for a long moment, and then slowly nodded before clearing his throat and coughing violently at the tickle of the sensation. Ryou looked over with an alarmed expression and Yugi flinched away, eyes widening drastically and a tremor coursing through his system as he watched the way Yami's entire body flexed and coiled, vibrating with the force of the coughing fit. The Puzzle rattled and shook against his stomach and he couldn't stop coughing, heaving violently and grabbing at his side tightly, fingers becoming soaked with blood that burned his fingers with a chill like ice.

Oh gods, he must have screwed up the sacrifice. The Puzzle must have been going after him, trying to destroy him in retaliation…

Muscles were pulling where they shouldn't have and he could see and  _feel_ a light burning in the center of his eyelids, flashing and pulsing and making his body hurt that much more. His side was on fire, burning and gurgling with sputters of red sparks and spouts of blood that made him want to scream. His lungs squeezed and contracted, releasing a full minute later and his throat growing ragged, muscles coiling beneath his skin and making his shoulder strain in response.

Oh gods, the Puzzle was killing him…

Every nerve in his body was sent on fire, the sensation spreading through him like venom, biting at his insides and coiling like tightened springs; the soot that dislodged and scraped its way up his airway had him gagging and his thigh muscle was screaming as his eyes watered from pain and his organs twisted violently as he tried to drag himself forward into a kneeling position.

They were all watching him.

They were all going to watch him die…

Yami wanted to laugh at the irony of the thought before he twisted away from Yugi and vomited violently enough that his entire spine arched and shook, hands grasping at the ground without purchase.

"Oh fucking hell," Bakura growled out, getting up and pacing away a few steps to try to get the image out of his head.

"Dude, what the fuck did they  _feed_ you?" Malik cried, grimacing and curling his lip back.

"That's actually mostly soot and some blood," Ryou stated, glancing up at them and then back at Yami with a frown, biting his lip and shaking his head slowly. "Obviously his body is trying to get rid of the soot and there is no other way to do so than throwing up. The blood is either from his throat or a laceration in his lungs…maybe his esophagus. I don't really…"

"Fuck," Yugi cursed, shaking his head and watching as Yami ducked his head and breathed harshly, the sound wet and desperate, raspy as he coughed again.

"Call for an ambulance," Ryou muttered, gesturing to Bakura wildly and watching as the brown-eyed cousin stared in confusion and then hurried to follow his instructions, staring at the red-eyed teen.

Yugi wondered why he wasn't coughing or vomiting like Yami, guessing maybe it was the amount of exposure just before his eyes fell on the Puzzle and dizziness made his head swim. Oh gods, that stupid artifact…

Had it managed to protect them then?

But why was it just Yami going through this?

It should have been them both, right?

Yami pulled his legs under himself weakly, muscles bunching and contracting like snakes moving under his skin as the weight of them seemed to drag him down, the adrenaline of the situation making his head pound violently, that light behind his eyelids sending him into more pain. His spine trembled and arched, jagged spikes of bone beneath his shirt, vomiting again.

He was pretty sure this had to be something like an exorcism but without the demon.

Except, in the movies, those bastards never looked tired and he was so exhausted that he couldn't even truly think straight, arms shaking with the weight of holding himself up and his shoulder blades quaking beneath his skin. His shoulder blazed and burned, stinging and sending off such sparks of pain that it made him want to collapse as his breathing became shattered and weak between spurts of vomit.

Yugi scrambled into action when he realized that the others were too shocked to do so, hurriedly grabbing Yami around the torso and pulling him back. The taller teen weakly struggled against him, trying to dig his heels into the gravel and failing. The smaller teen glanced at the black and red of his sooty blood and trembled slightly as he brushed his arm against his side; Yami let out a weak noise and gurgled, the blue-violet-eyed boy quickly pushing him back onto his hands and knees so that he could vomit again.

The others were still staring, too shocked to truly react, Bakura muttering something into the phone and sounding so distracted that Yugi wondered if they even knew what was going on in the first place.

He started to pull him back again when the blood and stomach acid painted black started to creep towards the taller teen once more, but the moment he reached out he was thrown backwards with a loud yelp of pain and stinging sensation in his cheek. His jaw was pulsing with pain, eyes wide and startled, more so by the fact that Yami was staring at him with a horrified expression as he rubbed his jaw and took in the distance between them, realizing slowly that he had just been knocked back on his ass a whole foot with that punch.

Seto was gawking for the first time Yugi had ever seen him, Malik and Bakrua looked pissed and amused but shocked all at once, Rebecca was frozen in place, Ryou had his mouth covered with his hands and his doe eyes were stretched three times their normal size, and Marik's mauve eyes had grown extremely wide. Mokuba was awkwardly peeking out from behind his taller brother's long left leg, blinking wide eyes and ducking behind it again, looking repulsed and scared out of his mind by the whole situation.

It took him a few seconds to connect the dots, his jaw really hated it when his mouth opened his slightly and his lips formed a small "o" shape in realization. Yami's father had just punched him.

He'd fucking  _punched_ him.

And he'd fucking punched him  _hard_.

He blinked once and really stared in a stupor state. Could he sue for that?

Surely it would fetch him a pretty penny?

But with the idea came the fact that he could easily end up hurting Yami if he were to do that. Because no matter how much his father really deserved to have his ass dragged through court and his name dragged through the mud for years to come, Yugi could not do such a thing if it was going to hurt Yami.

Yugi looked at the red-eyed teen for a moment, the other boy blinking as some blood dribbled out of his mouth and his expression turned from shocked to livid, and went to get up, to speak, but the ambassador now had his eyes on his only child.

"I see that you have not changed in the slightest," he spat, looking almost as if he were going to kick him when he moved his left leg closer to the red-eyed teen, nudging his knee. Yami's head tipped up, glaring at him for a moment before turning away again and breathing hoarsely.

"Get the fuck away from me," Yami snarled quietly.

Bakura backed up to nudge his blond cousin but ended up hitting Marik instead, the smaller blond looking over in confusion. "You would think he would shut the fuck up already, don't you?" he muttered, staring at his cousin with a look that said he should really follow his advice.

"Oh my god, I know right?" Malik snickered in a falsetto voice in his other ear, taking advantage of the situation and making the silver-haired jump slightly and look between them awkwardly, brown eyes wide as he blushed faintly.

" _Shit_." He rolled his eyes and shook his head as the two of them shared a small discreet high-five and then looked back at the other boy.

"He should probably stop while he's still ahead," Malik finally said.

"I don't know. I think if he just pushes a little more, Yami is going to end up getting up and clawing his eyes out," Marik stated, tilting his head.

When he had first encountered the red-eyed teen, he had been getting his locker for gym class, making sure the dial worked, when Ushio had returned from the showers. Marik had been about to snicker about whether the rumors weretrue about Mr. Micro when he witnessed the massive student thrown over the bench and straight into another row of lockers. Yami had come out of nowhere from what he had seen, landing on him and holding him down with his hands around his throat, saying something in his ear while he had struggled against him and tried to shove him away. Yami had pulled back a few seconds later and started kicking, spitting something at him that—if Marik wasn't wrong—was Arabic and too fast for him to really recognize. He thought it sounded like a curse, maybe, but he hadn't been sure and there was no way he was about to ask him in the first place because the moment that he had gotten some kind of bearings on what had just happened, Yami had spun on him with such dark eyes that he had backed up into his locker. The red-eyed teen had stared at him for all of a second before turning back and snarling something at Ushio before wandering out of the room again.

So yeah, he thought that if Yami could find a way to climb on top of the lockers, sit there for as long as it took for Ushio to come back and then jump him in some kind of badass-ambush thing then he could certainly take on his own father.

"Yeah, but that's his dad," Bakura muttered, looking unsure and more than a little concerned as he stared at his cousin who refused to look at his father.

Marik rolled his eyes. "So? I kicked my dad's ass before. I mean, everyone has a fucking breaking point. I put up with a bunch of shit before we got into that massive fight and Ishizu brought me here a couple of months ago. Maybe if he pushes him hard enough, we'll see just what makes Yami tick."

Both cousins glanced at him and nearly burst out laughing at the anticipation that seemed to make those purple eyes dance as he watched the two of them interact; Yami snarled quietly and twisted his entire body away from the ambassador's foot even as he continued poking him.

"Get the fuck away from me."

He chuckled in amusement and then looked at Yugi with cold eyes that made the smaller teen bristle and his jaw tighten. "Don't touch my son, you filthy little faggot."

Yugi opened his mouth, prepared to really put him in his place right about now, but fell silent and went wide-eyed when Yami cut him off, shoulders rising slightly as if he were bristling, snarling softly without turning his head.

"Fuck. Off."

"Who the fuck do you think you are  _speaking_ to?" his father spat after a long minute of silence, gray eyes cold with malice as all of them stared at Yami in shock, too startled to really move.

Yami forced himself to his feet, stumbling but catching himself as he narrowed his eyes and took a step towards him, curling his lips back and snarling. "I think I was talking to you, you stupid fucking bastard."

Seto jerked him backwards and Yami stumbled violently with the sudden movement, eyes wide at the sensation. The brunet held him a small but much safer distance from the ambassador who looked ready to punch him at any moment.

"Oh shit," Malik muttered with wide eyes.

"Punch the shit out of him!" Bakura cried suddenly, fisting his hands and punching the air for a moment, successfully gaining Yami's attention for a second; Yugi climbed to his feet again, confused by the statement, and Ambassador Aknamkanon glared fiercely at his son who Seto kept carefully on his feet, frowning slightly as he looked at his cousin but not bothering to really glance at the Egyptian in front of him.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" he spat.

"Who the fuck do you think  _you_ are?" Yami snarled.

Yugi winced and stared between the group for a second, wondering if any of them would stop him before he got into a real fight with his father. Yami was in no place to fight with him, especially with the lack of food he had been given and the soot he had inhaled, the way that his body seemed to tremble unconsciously. Then again, that could have just been him because his head was hurting and he swore he was seeing doubles at some point or another while watching them. But his wounds were bleeding again and the fact that he had been throwing up just seconds ago hardly helped his cause.

And who knew how long he had actually been unconscious.

There was no way to tell and at this rate, he was really too scared to ask…

Why would he want to fight him, though? That made no sense to him. He couldn't fight him and the idea of being able to hold his own at the moment seemed like something that he should have punched him for in all honestly.

He was just about to really call him out on his stupidity when the realization slapped him and nearly sent him to his knees. By the gods, Yami was fighting with his father…over  _him_. He had gotten mad because he had punched him, because he had demanded that he stay away from him. He was not picking a fight because of him touching him a moment ago or even the abuse he'd endured growing up. No, he was picking a fight because he had insulted the blue-violet-eyed teen.

"I will not go to Egypt with you, you pompous ass," Yami spat, shrugging Seto off and stumbling slightly before baring his teeth into a snarl, blood and saliva shining off the tips of his perfectly white canines. "I would rather die a million deaths than have to be around you anymore."

All of them, even Seto and Mokuba, who had shifted to stand at his side instead of behind him and posed an obvious threat if he were to attack their cousin, saw the way that the eye suddenly seemed to glow with no real light source to do so. Seto looked for a viable source and grew cold; there was no source for the Puzzle. It was simply glowing, the eye in the center shining on its own.

The ambassador stepped forward once and Yami narrowed his eyes before reaching into his pocket and pointing the gun at him. "Lay a hand on me and I will blow your brains out," he hissed, laughing softly and standing taller, eyes seeming to glow violently around his pupils for a moment. "I put up with it for too long to do it again."

Seto shoved him out of the way of the punch that the ambassador shot at him anyways; the smaller teen nearly toppled over to hit the ground but managed to catch himself at the last second, eyes wide as he rasped in a shaky breath and exhaustion tugged at his muscles.

"He's emancipated, you fucking moron. I don't know what you don't understand about that, but he does not have to listen to you at all anymore and you have no legal guardianship over him anymore. If you touch him now, it's called child abuse and it's a serious offense. He's only sixteen. Not eighteen. That makes him a minor, not an adult."

Yugi was a little fuzzy on the laws of emancipation and really just laws in general, but extremely so on the aspects of child abuse, but if it was coming out of the brunet's mouth then surely it was true, right? He had a fucking business so he had to know some…legal things, right?

"I don't even know you bothered to come here for him," the brunet continued, shaking his head with a disgusted look. "You are not even legally responsible for him anymore and as far as he is concerned, you are just the name on his birth certificate and  _nothing_ else."

As he looked at the empty gun—had his father known that it was empty? If he had then it was no surprise he had gone ahead and went to attack him because after that display at his house with the knife, he really should have been too scared to do so—he knew of a million different reasons for him to want to get his hands back on him again, to take him back to Egypt to marry Kisara.

There was power to be gained by his submission if he were to go back. First of all there was the fact that he would be able to bend Yami to his will and break him, mold him back into the son that he deemed worthy, the one that he would never be. There was the right to say that he saved his life and he was indebted to him. And then, he really thought that maybe the Puzzle was another part of this little game of his.

There was the aspect of controlling every single detail in his life, being able to make Yami the simple-minded, high-jumping naïve creature he had once been when he had first arrived in Japan. Taking him back to Egypt meant that he would be able to keep Yami under lock and key and never have to loosen his hold on the leash.

Ambition made him think of the ability to claim that the videos of disowning Yami were fake, that he had never turned his back on him in the first place. He would be able to say that Yami was never homosexual and the videos and pictures were all part of a scam for money. He would get the right to make this whole incident seem as if it were some massive idea to take him down and in the meantime he would turn this on them  _forcing_ Yami to admit himself as gay in public for the reason of purely screwing him over.

The aspect of blowing this up into a one massive stunt to gain acknowledgment that he had been currently denied came with the publicity of his "rescuing" him and taking him back to Egypt. He would be able to regain his former followers who had left him after he disowned Yami so harshly.

Doing this meant that he would be able to bury the scandal behind them all completely. He could claim it was just another stunt in order to further the scandal involving his mother that was still going on as well as the one in which everyone seemed to claim that Yami was their child and not the ambassador's.

The campaign would be purified again if he could just make Yami straight again and claim that he was never gay in the first place. It would be the first step in brainwashing Yami into support the campaign, to force him into working on it with him in order to keep him away from anyone who might catch his eye aside from Kisara.

And he could rid himself of his embarrassment by turning it all into a scam for money.

The shame would be erased as well, simply enough just by that happening.

The aspect of being able to see him squirm and try to force him into submission through discipline until he was completely under his thumb would amuse him to no end. He would get to see him crack and break like he had always wanted to and he would be able to laugh at Yami's despair later when he finally couldn't take it all anymore and bent to his will.

There was also the fact that Yami had disrespected him whenever he was "out of line" and the ability to punish him until he was crawling on his hands and knees and practically worshipping the ground he walked on was just enough to satisfy him.

He would get another chance at attempting to make Yami perfect. He would get the chance to mold him into the son that he had always envisioned him to be and make the perfect child in order to make all of Egypt love him again.

Then he got the chance to play house and pretend that Yami was never pushed away and their relationship had never once grown strained. He would be able to pretend that they were the model family that everyone wished they could have and then claim that there was never anything wrong in the first place.

"Fuck you," Yami snarled, running his finger over the edge of the gun's barrel and looking up at him for a moment; if he was right, he had the same gun in its holster in his waistband on the right side. He was right-handed so he had it tucked on his right side. If he was right, then he could grab it and maybe make him suffer…

He would not go back to Egypt. He was not going to be broken down and turned into that scared little child again. For two years he had tasted freedom so intense that it was impossible to ignore, and he would not go back to it. He may have been desperate for home because he loved Egypt more than he could care for another place, but he would not go back to that. As great as Japan was, it was not home and he wanted to go home…

His eyes slowly flickered briefly towards Yugi, watching the small teen whose body was tensed up and ready to spring into the middle of the fray at any moment, looking feverish as he waited for something to happen.

Blue-violet eyes, frozen but shining with alarm and readiness, flickered towards his as well, searching his for the single second that Yami allowed their gazes to remain locked before he looked back towards his father and cousin.

No, perhaps home was a concept more than an actuality.

Yami rubbed his finger over the trigger for a moment.

He felt pretty at home with the smaller boy was around.

Home was supposed to make feel safe and welcome, right?

Like you were cared for?

Maybe Yugi didn't care for him in that way that he wished he did, but either way, he cared a little and that was enough for him, he guessed.

Being with his parents…after two years, that was far from what he felt at even the idea of going back with them.

Yami had grown up thinking that his father's behavior was nothing short of normal, that children were commonly punished when they did something wrong, but he had yet to hear of someone smacking their child and he had yet to see a father grabbing their wrist until it snapped just because they asked for something and then cowered when he yelled. He had yet to hear about someone being home-schooled at three times the rate of everyone else or witness someone being smothered with a pillow in their sleep. He had yet to see someone throw their child in the back seat of their car and start driving before they could even get situated again. He had yet to see someone butcher their child's pet and try to feed it to them.

He had figured that Bakura and Malik's families would be the same, but they were far from it in every aspect. When he messed up they didn't smack him around, though he was entirely prepared for it, and when he broke the plate going back to do the dishes that first week, they hadn't tried to smother him in his sleep. They didn't make him do chores and they didn't even ask his cousins to do them unless they were going to be unable to do them themselves later and then both of them would happily do it—not immediately but later when they finally got bored enough to fathom the idea of doing them. And they didn't scream at them when they did something stupid.

They didn't have them locked in their rooms doing studies for hours at a time. They didn't starve them for a few hours on end until they were begging and sobbing for food.

No, their parents took care of them as if they were actual  _human beings_ and not some kind of toy to be played with.

They didn't force them to go to bed on time.

They didn't enforce the idea that they had to marry before they could be free of the family.

They didn't try to force them into relationships.

And, oh, by the gods, he would  _never_ forget the way that they all stared at him in shock whenever he apologized or flinched or jumped at loud noises. He would never forget the way that Bakura and Malik had both told him to "calm the fuck down and stop acting like they were going to butcher him in his sleep" after he had knocked over a vase in Bakua's house while playing ball. And if there was nothing else that stained his memory permanently, it was the single moment when they both realized just exactly what must have been going on all fourteen years of his life.

" _What_ did you just say to me, you little brat?"

"I said. Fuck. You."

" _Shit_!" Malik muttered, eyes wide in shock.

"See? Breaking points," Marik snorted, grinning widely. "Now let's see if he'll actually kick his ass…"

"Kick his ass!" Bakura cried in excitement, Yami's head snapping in his direction with wide eyes; Seto's own gaze grew increasingly wide in horror as he saw the ambassador about to smack his cousin. His hand shot out and just as quickly was stopped in place as Yami snarled quietly and turned his head back to him, squeezing his wrist with his nails digging straight into his nerves.

"Don't you dare fucking touch me."

The ambassador stumbled when he shoved his arm away and the teen crossed his arms, tipping his head down slightly as he considered his options for a moment; maybe, just maybe, if he was careful enough doing it, he could scare the shit out of Yugi and make him turn his back on him because he…he honestly didn't think he could keep him in his life at the price that the Puzzle presented him with.

"I've been bound and starved and nearly dehydrated," he muttered under his breath, moving the gun slightly in a dipping motion. "I endured a migraine and a seizure and even got electrocuted. I just burned them to death in there. And yet, for whatever reason, you irk me more than the rest of them. I almost wish I hadn't dropped that knife when I dumped Pegasus over the side. I could  _stab_ you with it."

"Oh my god," Mokuba squeaked, eyes wide.

"Jesus," Marik breathed, grinning wider.

"Yami," Malik muttered, shaking his head as the red eyes flickered over and stared at him curiously, growing confused by his expression. "You really don't want to say something like that. Witnesses and all."

"We'll kill all the witnesses!" Bakura cried, doing a fist pump.

Yami opened and closed his mouth before giving him a small half-smirk, chuckling and shaking his head while his cousins swapped looks and pointedly turned away from the silver-haired boy.

"His parents never disciplined him," his father scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"The weren't  _supposed_ to the shit that you did!" Yami spat, spinning on him viciously with eyes that seemed to glow. "You don't try to—how the fuck did you put it…'condition'?—a two-month-old! And you know what, you stupid bastard? I didn't even  _do_ anything wrong all those times! You're full of shit and if you don't get the fuck out of here before I lose my temple, it is on  _you_ what happens afterwards."

"Who the fuck do you think you  _are_?" the ambassador roared, clenching his fists again.

"I would  _think_ that I am Yami Atem Sennen!" he spat back, tightening his grip on the gun in his hand. "Or maybe not even that. Maybe I'm Atem Yami. Or Yami Atem. No Sennen.  _Fuck_ Sennen."

Bakura choked and covered his mouth, snickering as he watched his cousin; Malik nodded a little, smirking widely as he said, "Yami Atem sounds better. The other one is kind of awkward."

"I must agree with your strange cousin," a voice commented teasingly in his ear. "Atem Yami sounds rather…revolting to my ears and heavy on the tongue."

Yami fought back laughter. "Yami Atem, bitch!" he announced, snapping his fingers and pointing at Malik with his free hand.

"Do you have  _any_ idea how much  _damage_ you have caused my campaign?" his father seethed, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"Do you have  _any_ idea how much I don't  _care_?" Yami sneered.

Seto went to separate them, to grab him before he could punch him, but then his cousin lashed out and the ambassador dropped him, staggering backwards with a hand to the side of his head.

"Do it again," Yami spat, holding the gun tightly; he hadn't broken skin, but then again he hadn't wanted to. If he made the mistake of doing so a second time,  _then_ he would fuck him over with it.

He backed up a step when Seto pushed at his chest gently, shaking his head and gesturing him away, and looked himself over, listing the spots that hurt. Pulled muscle in his left leg and now his right shoulder and flank were bleeding. That honestly sounded like some kind of teenage party gone wrong.

He bit back a laugh at the irony; he didn't want to ever have to be with a massive group of people, especially not if they were going to see the two scars he was sure he was going to get. He could always make a joke about it, maybe somehow make it seem badass or something, but he hardly saw the point in even attempting that if he could avoid it altogether.

He snickered and shook his head as his brunet cousin and his father started tearing into each other again, finding himself unconsciously moving to put the gun in his pocket and cup the Puzzle between his fingers with his free hand for a moment. He watched them as they glared at each other and snarled and pulled out the remote to his collar, gesturing Bakura over.

For a moment the silver-haired teen watched them and then looked at him and back, looking distinctly disappointed at missing the argument before hurrying over and watching with extremely interested eyes. "Please tell me that isn't what I  _think_  it is."

Yami raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "It probably isn't but tell me what you think it is," he murmured, wondering if he should just take a seat because his legs were truly beginning to kill him.

His silver-haired cousin leaned into his ear and whispered softly while his head tipped to the side and his face turned bright red, the shade almost matching his eyes, expression thoroughly scandalized.

"Oh my fucking  _Ra_! W-what the fuck is  _wrong_ with you?!" he cried, face burning harder as his coffee-eyed cousin burst out laughing and looked it over; the shorter teen slowly cast a glance at Yugi and then shuddered, glad that the other boy wasn't anywhere near him at the moment. "Don't they…plug into the wall or something?"

For a moment his cousin struggled not to and then he doubled over, laughing and grasping at the other boy's shoulders; Yami hissed softly in pain and he immediately pulled his hand away from his wound. His chuckles seemed to burn their way through the air and echo through each of their ears and Yami blushed furiously, thinking that his eyes were probably put to shame by this point while he shifted his weight awkwardly.

"Oh my god, I love you!" he barked out, grabbing him and pulling him into a tight hug that had his eyes nearly popping out of his head with the force of the Puzzle pressing into his torso, his breath gone as he gave Malik a look for help. The blond merely laughed at him in response, shaking his head. "You're my new favorite!"

"Hey!" Mokuba cried. "I thought I was your favorite!"

"I meant  _above_ five feet, shorty."

"I'm five two, asshole."

Yugi paled, mouth falling open as he looked at the youngest Kaiba brother. He was  _taller_ than him? An  _eight_ -year-old was  _taller_ than him?

"Okay, well, here's the thing, Mokuba. He's more my  _size_." Yami struggled to get out of his grip as he started to stroke his fingers through his hair; the red-eyed teen let out a whining noise in the back of his throat at the laughter that came with his reaction just before he landed awkwardly on his ass, looking dazed from the impact of the short fall. "Anyways, you two are officially tied."

Mokuba paused and looked at the red-eyed teen who glanced at him in response, curiously tilting his head and staring with an innocent expression; the smaller boy smirked widely and turned to Bakura. "Okay, well, that's fine. He's my favorite anyways."

"Oh,  _fuck_ no!" Malik screeched, glaring at his cousins in annoyance. "You have  _got_ to be kidding me!"

"Shut up, Malik, no one likes you anyways," Marik barked, laughing when all of them nodded in agreement to his statement while the taller blond gawked and then shook his head in annoyance.

"I hate this fucking family."

Yugi couldn't help a soft laugh at their childish antics. Even in the heat of it all, they were making jokes and trying to calm themselves down through humor rather than all of them attacking each other and placing blame like he knew other families might. He could see that Seto and the ambassador were doing a well enough job of that as it was, seeing as they had  _yet_ to even pause in their argument and it made him somewhat more secure with that knowledge.

"Anyways, yes, Yami, some vibrators  _do_ have to be plugged in," Bakura teased playfully, patting him on the head while Ryou, Malik and Marik's mouths fell open as they looked at him; Yami turned his head away and stared at the gravel in frustration, picking up a couple of rocks and refusing to face them. Rebecca choked and started giggling behind her hands, Yugi found himself halting halfway to Yami's side, and Mokuba innocently piped up with "What's a vibrator?"

Malik whacked Bakura upside the head and Ryou giggled while Marik snickered and Yugi awkwardly glanced at the eight-year-old who was taller than him—how unfair was that?—and then turned away again quickly, frowning as he blushed slightly.

"Oh my god…"

"Thank you, you dipshit, because I  _really_ needed you to say that out loud."

"Don't complain about being naïve. It makes you very desirable to the sexual predators of the world," Bakura snorted, him and Malik bursting out laughing and sharing a high-five as they stared at their flustered cousin.

"I can't help that I'm hotter than you fuckers!" Yami spat.

Both of them stopped short and then stared at him incredulously, turning to swap looks and look each other up and down; the red-eyed teen ended up blinking wide eyes when they both turned back to him with snorts and the statement of "I'm the hottest, bitch!" at the same time, startling themselves.

Yami shook his head and drew his legs in to cross them and massage at the ache in his left thigh, the pulled muscle yielding beneath his fingertips but the pain not completely leaving him; his side stung with the movements, his shoulder aching and begging him to stop, a plea that he openly ignored.

Ryou came over to his side, a silent approach that Yami didn't even notice until he was crouched beside him and speaking in a gentle tone. "Want some help? You're looking tired," he murmured, watching the way that Yami's eyes turned glassy for a second before they seemed to clear enough to really look him over in surprise. For a moment the albino worried that Yami would say no, that he would keep going and maybe hurt himself worse, but then he finally nodded and pulled his hand away, leaning back on them to give him enough room to reach over and start where he left off.

Yami tipped his head back slightly, purring softly in delight at the sensation, his eyes becoming half-lidded unconsciously; Yugi nearly leaped at the other boy, his eye twitching as he took in the sight of him massaging Yami's leg. How dare he touch what was  _his_?

He blinked once and shifted his weight awkwardly, feeling a guilty twist of his stomach, a violent movement of his insides that left him wanting to vomit for a second. No, Yami was not his, but he would hope that he would be, though he didn't know if that was possible after the way that he had reacted to him before in that…dream that they had shared. He had seemed unsettled and unhappy, like he didn't exactly want him there; vaguely he wondered if that had to do with the date or if it was Rebecca altogether or possibly just him. But then, how could he justify that suspicion when the red-eyed teen had gotten so angry at his father for saying that he couldn't be around him like he had?

Yugi had to admit that if he turned him away, he was going to spiral pretty badly; he didn't have to think about it to know. He loved the stupid bastard; he had almost curled up with him on the floor of the warehouse to lay with him while the flames ate them. The idea still made his fingers tremble with unfamiliarity despite the truth to it, however. He kept him balanced and he was the only one that Yugi would ever place over his grandpa or  _literally_ walk through fire for. He was the only one that Yugi cared for. He was the only on that kept him happy and the only one that he desired. He was the only one who made him feel lost and threw him into a coma when he was in danger.

He shook the thought off because this would prove to be the most horrible time to tell him those three little words; there would be no excuse for the pain he would inflict on him if that was to happen.

But that didn't mean that he liked the way that Yami was purring and Ryou had that soft gentle smile on his lips that failed to be even the slightest bit seductive or affection as he massaged the spot right beneath his inner thigh; Yami didn't even really seem to know he was making it or if he did, then did that mean he was…?

Yugi nearly laughed at the thought; he couldn't be interested in Ryou, could he?

He didn't know him, didn't have a single idea about him or who he was, and the only time they had interacted had been in the hallway that time; surely he didn't think that because he was massaging his leg or…

Yugi tilted his head and wanted to walk around him for a moment to face him, see if he could figure out if he was feeling anything akin to what he felt for him, but he wasn't even sure he would have been able to do that in the first place.

Rebecca noticed where his eyes were settled and smiled a little in amusement, though her jealous heart sang a song of remorse and anger that he was paying attention to the boy rather than her. But, in all honesty, she could see the two of them together. Especially after the red-eyed teen said a quiet "Thank you" to Ryou who looked startled but sat back as he twisted around to look for him. Those bright red orbs widened drastically when he did not find him in his former spot, twisting himself all the way around on his hands and knees, sitting back on his haunches and searching. She smirked at the way that he relaxed immediately upon noticing him, eyes turning much brighter as his tensed muscled uncoiled and he sat back again; the moment that their gazes locked, however, both she and Yugi saw the small blush that appeared on his cheeks as he turned away immediately and glanced at Ryou.

The smaller albino raised a brow at him and said something too quiet for them to catch that made Yami narrow his eyes and glare; Rebecca had to admit that if Yami could get that worried about something as little as just not being able to see him and then become that bashful when he spotted Yugi watching him, then she could definitely see them being an okay couple.

Yami glanced at the other boy with his head tilted and asked, "What happened to the phone call?"

Ryou opened and closed his mouth and then snickered, "I think he got distracted, honestly."

Yami nodded and turned around, kicking his right foot out and tapping his cousin's leg, drawing the attention of the taller albino who had gone back to watching their brunet cousin and uncle arguing again with pure amusement in his eyes back to him after a split second. "I need you to get this thing off me."

"What?" he asked, confused, raising a brow and frowning as he looked him over.

Yami reached up and pulled on the leather band of his collar. "It's one of those shock collars. Help me get it off."

"So  _that's_ what this delightful little remote does, huh?" Bakura murmured, a mischievous look crossing his face as he took in the device in his hand before his eyes widened drastically and he found himself recoiling. "Fucking hell, how the…?"

"What?" the red-eyed teen demanded, eyes wide. "What's wrong?"

Malik looked over his shoulder, eyebrows shooting upwards and his eyes nearly bugging out of his skull as he looked down at the remote and back towards Yami, opening and closing his mouth before gawking. The smaller cousin would have gotten up to see as well but he was too tired to bother and it didn't hold his attention nearly as much as it appeared to with the others.

"Here, do you want me to keep going?"

Yami looked at the smaller albino after a moment and tilted his head. "I…If you would," he commented, surprised when the other boy smiled and nodded, going back to kneading at his strained muscle. He purred softly but his attention was still completely on his cousins, confused and upset by their awed expressions.

"That's not possible, right?" Bakura muttered, gesturing to the remote.

"That would have killed a fucking elephant."

The other boy hesitated. "How would you know?"

"Because…I…It's a big number, okay?"

"Goddamn it, Malik."

"What? I don't know anything about voltage! I just know that's a high fucking number, okay?"

"Goddamn it."

"You should be careful about much weight you put on this," Ryou commented, cutting into his thoughts and making him turn his head away from where he had been watching them; he tilted his head in confusion for a second before nodding slowly.

"Yes, I will. Thank you."

"Sure, no worries. Just remember that it's going to be pretty sore for a while."

"I expected as much," he muttered dryly, turning back to Bakura again and searching his face, more than a little surprised when he found that the smaller albino was now staring at the voltage with his mouth covered and eyes extremely wide, looking ready to vomit.

Yami weakly kicked his foot again in order to gather his attention again. "Let me see."

Bakura hesitated for a long minute and then finally sighed and reluctantly handed it over to him, frowning as Yami read it for a moment, unimpressed with the numbers. It was about twenty in amperage and twenty million in voltage. A quarter of amperage could kill a human. Less than three could kill an elephant. Four milliamps across the chest could stop the heart; in all actuality, he might as well have been hit by a small half-assed deformed quarter of a lightning bolt.

He shrugged and handed it back, undisturbed.

"The Puzzle will protect its host at all costs," Atem had told him before.

As far as Yami was concerned, this was just proof that the former pharaoh had not lied.

"How…?" Malik muttered, frowning.

Yami shook his head and ignored him; he was not in the mood to try to answer questions. "Can you get it off me or not?" he asked instead, watching his face and waiting for an answer as Bakura blinked in surprise at the statement.

He glanced at the remote and then started to hand it to Malik but then very quickly changed direction to hand it to Ryou. His blond cousin went wide-eyed and slack-jawed, huffing in annoyance as Yami chuckled in amusement. Bakura smirked slightly and crouched between his legs, tipping his head up to get more exposure to the collar. Yami let his eyes drift towards where he could see Yugi walking around in the corner of his vision, pacing slightly but looking unsure of himself and whether he should approach. He honestly wasn't sure if he wanted him to do so or not.

He held his head up, almost perfectly still aside from a few small twitches from where he was losing the strength to keep even awake at this point. The silver-haired teen tilted his head, about to open his mouth, touching the plate that rested against his pulse point, and then both of them recoiled violently at the spark that shot through their skin, turning their heads and glaring at their cousin who looked around with feigned innocence.

"Fucking moron," Bakura spat, rolling his eyes.

"He stole it from me when I wasn't looking," Ryou defended himself, clearing his throat awkwardly at the glare he was given from the blond next to him; he shrugged half-heartedly and Yami rolled his eyes.

Bakura tugged slightly, running his fingers under the back of the plate, really searching, and then went still, sighing. "Yeah, uh…you're going to have to hold still," he announced in a low voice, frowning and chewing his cheek as the red-eyed teen lowered his head and watched his cousin pulling the pocketknife out of his boot to flip the blade open. "Tip your head up and stay that way."

Yami nodded slightly and tipped his head back, seeing the way that Yugi stiffened in the corner of his eye for a moment and started pacing a few steps, frowning as he continued moving, his attention never actually leaving his taller look-alike. Bakura weaseled the pocketknife's sharp blade between his neck and the leather, flipping it only after he had grabbed Yami's neck and held it completely still, looking a little nervous for a second. The blade's new position made the collar constrict against the back of his neck for a moment but did nothing to alter his breathing or do more than just give a slight discomfort. For a moment he just kept it like that, holding Yami's throat with just enough force that if he jerked too hard, the other teen wouldn't get himself hurt if he flinched, and pulled quickly. The collar strained but tore straight in half, falling into his lap as Bakura let go of him and watched him flip it over, staring at the welded metal.

Well, apparently they liked to weld things.

Assholes.

"Thank you."

The silver-haired teen hummed softly once and folded his knife back into its sheath, putting it inside of his boot again and straightening to his full height with a single movement to snatch the collar out of his hand. "With the way it laid on your neck, it would have been completely over your pulse point the entire time. Your heart should have fucking stopped…" he muttered under his breath thoughtfully, tilting his head for a moment and frowning, realizing that they were all paying far too much attention to him and that all of them had certainly heard him.

"Hey, Bakura?"

"Hmm?" he muttered, not looking at the smaller albino for a moment before glancing at him when he didn't answer immediately; the smaller boy was staring at his cousin who was no longer paying attention to them but now had his eyes on his father and cousin instead. For a second he didn't know if he was supposed to ask what he wanted or not but then Ryou turned back, expression troubled.

"Call for an ambulance again."

He blinked and sighed, stepping a few feet away and pulling his phone out of his pocket, dialing and pacing; he really wished he hadn't waited so long to do so again. The first time had been a shitty attempt as it was, unconsciously so but definitely shitty anyways.

"Yeah, uh, my cousins has been in a little bit of an accident," Bakura murmured, glancing over his shoulder at him and raising a brow as Yami turned his attention on him. "Um, no, he seems to be okay for right now. But either way, there was a fire down at the loading dock south of Domino City and—fucking, just trace the goddamned call, morons!"

"That the police!" Yami hissed in an attempt he already knew to be in vain when he tried to warn him off of his oncoming tirade to which his cousin happily flipped him off and listened for a moment; beside him, Ryou winced and shook his head, probably regretting the decision to have Bakura call instead of doing it himself.

"Okay, look, I don't  _know_ how it started," he snapped. "All  _I_ know is that my cousin was caught up in it and he needs an ambulance. No, we can't move him—because we don't have a fucking  _car_! I mean, we have my other cousin's helicopter but—"

Yami jumped to his feet, instantly alert and looking sick to his stomach as he growled, "If you fucking touch him, I'll kill you."

He pushed him and Yami stumbled backwards. Bakura dodged away from his hand and looked ready to punch him while Ryou winced. Yami sprang like a cat and landed on his back. Yugi froze in place and Seto and Mokuba both stared at their cousin with wide eyes as he dug his heels into his father's stomach. His father staggered and grabbed at him. Yami winced and released immediately at the feel of nails in his throat.

Yami was tossed over his shoulder and landed on his back harshly. The cracking noise that accompanied it made his ears ring. The Puzzle burned against his stomach as he kicked himself to his feet again. He sprang again, slamming into the ambassador, and both of them hit the ground. The punch made Yami grind his teeth but the Puzzle seemed to dilute the pain enough that he could return the hit to his father's face and make him snarl in annoyance.

Yugi made an attempt to jump in to help, desperation making his heart pound faster his ribcage, terror making his adrenaline spike, but whenever there appeared to be an opening it closed just as fast again. They rolled a couple of steps and Yami lashed out when he slammed to the ground. The ambassador lifted him again and then threw him into the ground with a loud thud.

Yugi bit back a whimper of worry and watched as they both tumbled straight towards the dock.

"Get control," Atem hissed in his ear. "Grab the gun and knock him away before—"

Yami ground his teeth together. He couldn't do that…

They both tumbled over the edge, Yami letting out a noise of pain and discomfort as he tried to dig his nails into the dock. The weather-worn wood gave way beneath his fingers with the force of the tumble.

Gods, if he died underwater…

"No! No, no, no!" Bakura snarled, glaring into the water and looking ready to jump in himself for a moment.

The ambassador resurfaced a second before Yami. The teen scrambled and tried to grab at the wood, knocking his father aside and making a wheezing noise in the back of his throat. His lungs were starting to hurt more than ever now…

Yugi hurried to the end of the dock, reaching out to grab him. The red-eyed teen reached out, snarling when his dad threw him back under. He came back up a second later, eyes wild as he clawed at him in retaliation. His dad went under for a moment. Yugi tried to grab his hand and nearly went over the edge himself when he disappeared again.

"God fucking damn it, Yugi,  _grab him_!" Bakura roared, glaring before spitefully screaming into the phone a second later that he "wasn't fucking talking to them!

"I-I can't," he breathed, shaking his head and swallowing hard. "He keeps getting pulled back under before I can…"

"More like he's drowning, you bastard! He can't fucking  _swim_!" the silver-haired teen snarled.

"He— _what_?" Yugi screeched, head snapping around to stare at him for a split second before turning back immediately again. Yami couldn't  _swim_? Goddamn it. He narrowed his blue-violet eyes into slits and leaned forward, peering into the water for a moment. This seemed like one of those moments in a horror movie where a hand would reach out of the water and grab him. But for the most part, the water was too still even with them thrashing beneath the surface, and he was slowly beginning to realize just exactly why the two Sennen family members were sure to pop up close to each other. His father could swim and he couldn't. He was trying to use that to keep him afloat…

When the ambassador resurfaced yet again, Yugi sprang straight over his head with a deep intake of air. He hit the water with a slightly disoriented sensation, like something was touching at his subconscious hesitantly, a thought or a bubble of weak emotion…

He took a moment to open his eyes. The sting of salt water made his vision blurry for a moment before settling again.

There he was, almost a foot in front of him. Yami looked almost like he was trying to grab the gun in his waistband. But at the same time he didn't look like he was trying to fight him anymore. Maybe it was just to threaten him enough to make him stop…

Yami shot upwards and breathed in deeply, looking at the dock with his mind racing a little too quickly. Where the hell was Yugi?

His father pushed him under again before he could properly attempt to think about it. He flailed once and then received a kick to his gut that was too sluggish to hurt. His side and shoulder were starting to sting horribly, however, and he was pretty sure they were bleeding now. His frantic mind said as much as well.

Yugi grabbed him from behind. Yami kicked and flailed, panicking.

It was a horror movie moment. Something was actually going to drag him down and below and then maybe it would go so low that the pressure would kill him or…he would have to be dead before then, right? No oxygen and all that?

His ears rang for a second. Oh fuck, now that he'd given the idea consideration, his lungs were starting to hurt again.

Yugi ignored his panicking and maneuvered them backwards. The ambassador seemed to be pulling himself up onto the dock…

The smaller teen winced at the way that Yami's skin twitched. He was pretty sure he was touching his wound again. His stomach twisted as he pulled them both up to the surface. He breathed in hard, panting and looking around slowly. Yeah, the ambassador was on the wood, breathing hard and glaring in their direction.

Yugi ignored him in favor of taking in the way that Yami was reaching out like a child waiting to be picked up. He kept his hands on his sides to help him stay afloat, panting and watching. Bakura grabbed him by his arms and pulled him out, hissing, "God, you're a fucking heavy son of a bitch" under his breath.

Yugi snorted softly and Yami rolled his eyes, smirking in amusement as he threw himself onto his back and breathed in heavily, staring up at the sky for a long minute. Bakura came back around as Yugi was about to attempt to pull himself out, stretching his hand for him. The smaller teen was half-convinced it was going to be a trick and the silver-haired boy would pull away at the last second, but he reached out anyways. Bakura clasped hands with him and braced himself before tugging him out.

"Fuck, shrimp, you're heavier than him."

Yugi burst out laughing and Yami chuckled as he pulled himself into a sitting position before shaking his head out so that water went everywhere. The smaller teen smiled fondly at the easy action and snorted softly in amusement, looking at the brown-eyed cousin even as he watched Yami from the corner of his eye. "You know, Bakura, I was the one who dragged him through the water, and all you did was pull him out. I'm not complaining about him being too heavy, so  _technically_ …I'm stronger than you."

Bakura blinked once in momentary confusion and then went slack-jawed. Malik howled with laughter, crying out a "Fuck yeah!" while Yugi smirked and turned his head in alarm when Yami started getting to his feet.

He was facing the ambassador…

If he pulled the trigger on that gun he was holding in his hand…

Yugi shuddered; he didn't think it would be anything short of what he deserved, but at the same time…

The gun went off suddenly and Yugi yelped, jumping to his feet and opening and closing his mouth in horror. Had he hit him?

The ambassador stared at him in shock, then at the spot to his right where the bullet had just gone straight through the wood. Scattered pieces of debris lay across his lap and the wood.

"That wasn't loaded before," the ambassador spat, baring his teeth.

Yami leveled the gun to aim at his forehead for a moment, not bothering to step forward or look away. "Let's just say that stealing something underwater is easier than above it," he stated, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Son of a bitch…"

"Let me explain something to you, before the police come and the ambulance arrives and all that  _bullshit_ ," the red-eyed teen murmured, growling softly at the edge of his words. "You step foot near me again at any moment before they get here and I will blast your fucking head off. You even breathe in Yugi's direction, I'm going to make it a lot slower for you. You so much as look at my cousins like that again, and I'm going to make it painful."

"You wouldn't do it."

"I just killed those people in there. I just beat you upside the head with a gun I stole from a dead man. I stole your gun. I just shot at you. So I think you should give that statement careful consideration because you're sounding a little stupid and that's a disgusting little trait don't you think?"

"Yami…"

The teen shook his head at him, cutting him off before he could even really begin, and narrowed his eyes into slits. "I should shoot you just because you sound stupid. Do you like your fingers? I can show you how nice my aim is—"

" _Yami_!"

"Shut up," the red-eyed boy spat without looking away. "Now, back to us. Here is what will happen. You are never to speak of this with anyone. I don't care what happens. It's not something that you get the right to tell. You will not come back to Japan outside of business because if you mess with me again, I  _will_ kill you. If you ever threaten me again, I think it will be hilarious how fast your blood comes out. Never contact me again. Never contact anyone here outside of work. If I find out that you're trying to find me, I'm going to go all the way to Egypt and I'm going to slaughter you like a fucking cow. Maybe even bathe in your blood and dance around your body ritualistically if I'm feeling satanic enough."

Bakura snorted and covered his mouth, snickering behind his fingers and shaking his head while Malik ducked his head with a chuckle and Ryou and Marik both swapped looks and bit off some laughter of their own. Seto smirked and Rebecca's eyes widened drastically while Mokuba frowned slightly and Yugi continued watching Yami with wide eyes, getting to his feet after a long moment.

"Don't interfere with my life. If you honestly think that you're going to make me indebted to you, you have another thing coming. Fifty million dollars or not, I don't care. We are going to cease  _all_ form of contact here and now. Unless, for some magical, unknown, bullshit reason, I ever actually  _have_ to contact you, and then  _I_  will do so, not the other way around. I don't care if you're lying on your death bed. No."

"You little brat."

"Go ahead and rush me. We'll play target practice. Want to see how fast I can get you through the heart?"

"Jesus fuck," Rebecca muttered, shaking her head slightly and looking sick to her stomach for a moment.

"Yami, come on," Yugi whispered quietly, going to his side and putting a hand on his arm in order to try to coax him into leaving the ambassador alone. "I think he gets the point."

"I'd have to shoot him through the balls for him to 'get the point'," Yami snapped quietly, chewing his cheek; Yugi's voice was shaking slightly and he was obviously scared enough as it was.

Sirens…?

The red-eyed teen turned his head and stared down the road before looking at the gun and then at his father, turning the safety on and hesitating to throw it to him. "Watch your step," he hissed, tossing it to him and reaching up to run his hands over the Puzzle, staring at the lights that were flashing as the police and ambulance came out again.

Vaguely he wondered if he had done enough to even remotely convince Yugi he was too dangerous to be around; for a moment he was pretty sure he hadn't but his mind was tired and his body was growing heavy, his senses weighed down like lead as he breathed in sharply. His vision swam and his head started to hurt again.

Apparently the police weren't a big enough threat for the Puzzle to care for helping keeping him conscious…

"Fall into it," Atem advised in his ear. "It'll be fine when you wake up again."

* * *

It seemed to take forever for them to finally come back with the announcement that Yami was okay; he had passed out just as they had gotten there, falling into Yugi who had caught him in a panic, startled out of his mind and trying to wake him. Bakura had hopped into the ambulance before anyone could actually think to debate who was going and Yugi had followed, refusing to budge until they finally left with the three of them.

Seto wasn't sure what the two of them had talked about or even if they had but they both sat there, rigid and all but bristling at each other, looking ready to tear into each other if they were only given the reason to do so. And as he continued explaining that the bullets had barely even grazed him, according to the doctors, he couldn't help but wonder what the fuck was with them…

"So then why did he bleed so much?" Yugi demanded, interrupting.

"He's somewhat anemic," Malik muttered, leaning forward with a bored expression, elbows against his knees and chin in his hands while his fingers drummed out strange rhythms against his jaw. He glanced at the others as they continued staring, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "He doesn't always clot as fast as he's supposed to. Other times he clots just great."

"In this case, I think it was probably the condition he came out of the warehouse in that made him unable to clot. But it started a while back when he was younger. Sometimes he would get sick and his blood would thin. Other times, it's probably his diet. No one really has a solution for it as it is," Seto murmured, glancing at him and then turning his attention back to Yugi after a moment, voice taking on a distasteful note. "They have no actual diet for him to follow or anything because his blood sometimes just thins out. When I asked him, he said it started when he was around four or five."

"He gets it from his mother," Malik commented suddenly, nodding once and turning away again.

Seto cast him an odd look and then shook his head slightly before turning his attention back on his extremely worried little brother who was still jumping around slightly in his seat and trembling every now and then. "He is perfectly fine, just unconscious right now," he continued, reaching up to rub the heel of his palm against his eye. "He…apparently went into shock or something after he was put on the medication."

"Shock?" Yugi echoed in confusion, eyes widening slightly in alarm.

"Yami went comatose." He paused when the smaller teen looked ready to leap out of his seat, blinking before rolling his eyes and rubbing at them again. "Fucking Christ. I meant that he's knocked out. Not comatose, just knocked out. It happened right after they hooked up the IV in his arm and started delivering his medication. But it's nothing anyways, just his natural reaction to the painkillers they put in his system."

The smaller teen stared and tilted his head for a moment, about to ask before thinking slowly of Yami's reactions to coffee and sugar. The caffeine put him to sleep and the sugar kept him awake.

"Look, he has strange reactions to things like medication. Cough medicine has a habit of making him vomit, aspirin sometimes gives him a fever, and sleeping pills keep him awake. He's always been like this. The morphine is just keeping him asleep for the moment. Yami is fine."

"Great!" his blond cousin announced, nodding eagerly and getting up. Seto curled his lip back and narrowed his eyes into slits as he grabbed his arm and leaned against him with the expression of a begging dog. "Can we go home now?"

Seto pulled away, gawking at his silver-haired cousin as the chair collided with the side of Malik's head. The blond staggered and stared at him with a shocked expression, rubbing his head.

"You stupid blowhard."

"Look, I don't know about you but I'm  _tired_!" Malik whined pitifully. "And Yami is  _fine_! So why shouldn't I be allowed to go home and sleep?"

"Malik…has a point," Yugi murmured quietly, frowning and chewing his cheek. Each of them turned on him with shocked expression and for once he really did not want the attention, immediately lowering his eyes to the floor instead of trying to meet theirs; the only eyes he wanted to see were currently closed.

"Yami is okay. According to you, he is just sleeping it off…" He trailed off for a moment. "So…we can all rest easy knowing that. Now we just have to wait until he wakes up, right? The rest is already over and done with."

Ryou and Marik turned away from him after a long minute of watching his face and trying to see if he was okay or even serious about the statement but with his head bowed none of them could actually tell.

"Funny," Seto spat coldly, narrowing his eyes into slits. "I thought you had changed some. I suppose I was wrong about that then."

"I never said I was leaving," Yugi snarled, raising his head to glare at him from under his bangs. "I'm staying here until he wakes up. What I was saying is that you don't need to fucking throw things at each other."

Bakura glanced at the chair from where it was laying next to the door and then looked at Ryou and Marik. "You think they have people they pay to put that back in place?" he muttered curiously, frowning.

Both of them snickered and got to their feet.

"It was a serious question."

"That's why it's funny," Marik snorted, rolling his eyes and turning away. "I agree with Malik. I'm tired. I want to go home and lay down."

"Me too," Ryou offered before giving Yugi a small soft smile in farewell; the smaller teen stared at him for a long moment and then turned away again almost immediately, not the least bit amused with the idea of the pity that he thought he could see there. Marik raised a brow and walked off with Ryou at his side, muttering softly. Seto stayed for a moment longer and then gestured to Mokuba to follow him while Malik eagerly took off before either of them could do anything. Bakura lingered, watching them for a moment and then going about the task of putting the chair back and leaning towards the smaller teen.

Yugi turned his head and the silver-haired teen caught him around the throat, squeezing once to get his point across. "If you hurt my cousin," he growled, voice dripping with venom as he leaned forward until their faces were mere inches apart, "I will cut you open and gut you like a fucking fish."

Yugi narrowed his eyes and punched him hard enough that he recoiled, letting go of him. "Know that the same goes for you," he said without a pause, the two of them staring at each other with narrowed eyes and Bakura's teeth bared slightly while he gave him an unimpressed look. He got to his feet, ignoring the brown-eyed boy, and headed to the nurse's station.

"I need the room number for Yami Sennen."

* * *

Atem turned to watch him over his shoulder, smiling slightly in amusement at the way that Yami regarded him with curious eyes. "You wanted to talk to me about something, yes?" the pharaoh chuckled.

"I wasn't expecting you to actually come," the teen admitted, frowning and reaching up to scratch at his side, curious. "I thought maybe you would leave the first chance you got."

The purple-flecked red eyes narrowed for a moment before he slowly shook his head and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "No, young one. I have no intentions to leave you to suffer on your own," he stated calmly.

"Hmm." Yami gave him a small wry smile. "Thank you then."

Atem dipped his head in acknowledgment but didn't care to respond.

"Oh, um…did you still want me to act dramatically shocked by your presence or is that off the table?"

"Ooh, so you are agreeing that it needs to be dramatic."

Yami opened and closed his mouth and then shrugged. "Your choice, I guess."

"You guess? Of course it's my choice! I am pharaoh!"

"You're dead, pharaoh."

"Even more reason to make this dramatic." He took a seat. "Make it great."

Yami laughed and got to his feet. "I have no idea what the fuck I'm supposed to do. Give me instructions."

"Improvise."

The teen burst out laughing and shook his head. "Geez, what? I can't just randomly do that! You have to give me something to actually work with or else it's going to come out awkward."

"Everything  _about_ you is awkward," Atem teased, shaking his head and leaning back against the wall. "Um…let's see. You could respond like you did when Yugi asked if you were gay."

"Um…right. So you want me to get pissy and then you can just gawk at me the entire time like he did?"

"Hmm…I don't think there was much gawking. I'm pretty sure there was more confusion and then ensuring that the book woman did not follow after you or report you."

Yami tilted his head and chuckled, "Book woman?"

Atem narrowed his eyes, not the least bit amused. "I have forgotten the proper term. There were not such things in my time."

"Librarian," he stated softly, nodding once and frowning slightly as he turned away. "They are called librarians."

"Then yes, that. A…librarian. She meant to report you."

"Write me up."

Atem narrowed his eyes and glared. "You are not the least bit amusing."

"You have no sense of humor," Yami replied with a smirk.

"Asshole."

"Ooh, you learned that word then."

"I already knew it. How could I not? Channeling Yugi for so long and I learned so many things that I didn't need to."

"Like what?"

The pharaoh glowered for a moment and then sighed softly with a roll of his eyes, ignoring the question for a long minute before suddenly giving him a curious, thoughtful look. "Tell me something, Yami, have you ever heard of something called a soul catcher?"

"Soul catcher? No…I mean, I've heard of dream catchers. What's a soul catcher?"

Atem blinked wide eyes in surprise and tilted his head. "Dream catcher? What is a dream catcher? Tell me about it."

Yami furrowed his brows for a moment. "It's…something that you use to make sure that you sleep well at night. It's supposed to catch your bad dreams and prevent you having them."

The pharaoh nodded slowly and continued watching him for a moment. "Soul catchers are…something that most people have no real knowledge of," he murmured, chewing his cheek and tilting his head as he thought it over. "People generally think that soul mates are the strongest bond you can have with another person. But with the Items and their bearers, normally there is a person who exists just for them called their soul catcher. In the afterlife you learn of their existence but most people don't have that kind of person in their life so it's more…subtle since they all consider it as soul mates being the deepest bond you can have with another."

Yami tilted his head and muttered, "If it is something that only exists for the ones with the Items then it is no surprise that no one knows about it." He paused, eyes flashing as he locked gazes with him again. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with you. And Yugi…"

"Yeah?" he murmured in that same dismissive tone. "Explain it to me then, Atem."

"It's like this…"

* * *

Rebecca came over with coffee and donuts, smiling as she woke him; his groggy blue-violet eyes opened into slits to see what was poking him and she giggled as they shot open in surprise when he realized that she was there and with breakfast. He sat up, yawning and turning his attention immediately towards Yami, finding that he had rolled over in his sleep, curled on his side with his back to him but completely relaxed.

"How is he?"

"Same as yesterday," he murmured, gratefully accepting the coffee from her and looking it over for a second before glancing at Yami's sleeping form again. "Thank you."

"Sure." She hesitated for a moment. "So…he still hasn't woken up then?"

"No, but he keeps rolling around. I'm starting to think that Seto was telling the truth. He looks like he's just sleeping, not like he's in pain or anything," Yugi replied, shrugging and licking his lips as she offered him a cream-filled doughnut that he happily started to wolf down; after nights of having to watch her grandfather and his when they got sick with heart attacks or strokes from overworking or getting too hot, they had fallen into the routine of one of them buying a breakfast of coffee and donuts—always the same flavors, caramel mocha cappuccino with no foam and vanilla late with extra foam and cream-filled chocolate-iced doughnuts from the best doughnut joint in Domino.

"He's going to be okay," she said simply, taking a seat next to him and looking at the box of breakfast pastries with a stomach that refused to settle.

Yugi nearly laughed at her attempt to comfort him, first because of how awkward it was and second because it had to have been horrible to console the boy you were so infatuated with when he was in love with someone else.

He smiled and shook his head, banishing those thoughts and looking at the way that Yami's side rose with each inhale; he was breathing well, apparently, not the least bit affected by what was going on. "Oh, I know that. Yami will be perfectly fine at the end of all this," he murmured, leaning back in his seat. "I just want to be here when he wakes up."

"You want to be the first face he sees," Rebecca commented, nodding once.

Yugi cast a glance at the ground, chewing his cheek with a small frown. "Yeah," he admitted in a toneless mutter, opening his coffee cup lid and taking a sip, the caffeine giving him the small jolt into awareness he needed to be able to truly follow both the conversation and actually concentrate on his own tired thoughts.

Rebecca was wrong.

He didn't  _want_ to be the first face.

He  _needed_ to be the first face.

"How are  _you_ holding up?"

Yugi let out a rough, soft bark of a noise, shaking his head. "As me that again when I'm actually awake," he replied gruffly, staring at the other boy and tilting his head; did he still have the Puzzle around his neck?

He had heard something about the doctors telling Seto that they couldn't take it off him. Something about it possibly growing into his skin due to the burns that had come from the fire.

He studied the back of his neck for a moment but the folds of sheet and what he supposed was Yami's gown shielded any view of it.

Rebecca waited until he had taken a few more sips. "So, how are you holding up?"

Yugi blinked and then smirked slightly. "You're so fucking annoying," he teased.

"That's what girls are here for. To annoy." She cast a small glance towards Yami's monitor for a moment and tilted her head; steady heartbeat, steady breathing, average blood pressure…

"You know, I am really sorry for snapping at him like I did before. I honestly don't even know why I got that jealous in the first place," the blonde admitted, running a hand through her bangs.

Yugi laughed humorlessly for a moment. "I was jealous that Ryou was touching him," he admitted in a soft yet gruff voice, the sound coming out scratchy and drawing her attention. "Because I wanted to tell Yami but then…if I did, at the moment, it would have sounded so false, so stupid."

She wanted to say that it would never sound stupid if he told him that, but bit her lip; timing did come with this kind of thing, she guessed. And telling him right after he had just regained consciousness, right in front of his dad, in front of the rest of his family, would not have been a good idea by any means.

"You'll get your chance."

"I know that," he snapped coldly, drumming his fingers over the cup and staring at the sleeping form in the bed. "I just…Fuck, I've never felt this scared before, Rebecca. I mean, my grandpa, yeah, but it's…completely different."

"Yami isn't family."

Yugi almost pointed out that he didn't need her to tell him that because he obviously knew that he wasn't but then fell short; she was just thinking in terms of types of affection. He nodded instead, turning his head towards the monitor and then the clock on the wall, sighing and sitting back.

"I never really considered it so much before, but Yami…Yami is really important…"

Rebecca shot him a look that clearly said she didn't understand what he meant and her only actual thought on the statement was far from what he meant. Of course he was important to the smaller boy; Yugi loved him, after all. He  _had_ to be important to him if that was the case…

Yugi gave her a small wry smile, shaking his head and opening his mouth to run his tongue over his teeth for a second, a habit that he had when he really freaked out and tried to play it down, something that she was relatively sure he had only ever done around her in the first place. The look on his face said that her assumption was probably right and she smiled the tiniest bit; so maybe he didn't love her, but he was still showing her a little bit of something that no one else had seen just yet.

Of course, one of these days Yami would probably see that look, most likely misunderstand it and grow confused by it or possibly, somehow just understand it automatically without even having to think about it.

He did seem to understand the blue-violet-eyed boy on some kind of strange level that she had yet to witness…

"I mean to his family, Rebecca. To Bakura and Seto and Mokuba and even Malik," he explained, frowning and narrowing his eyes faintly as he studied her face; if he could just keep focus on her for a few minutes, maybe he could fight off the anxiety and the feel of his heart cracking in his chest. Even if only for a few shattered seconds, for a single secluded moment… "You saw their faces. Mokuba looked ready to break down at any moment and Seto had this expression like he was constipated and his jaw wouldn't unclench the entire time that we were in the air. Malik was over there with his head down and fidgeting constantly but he wouldn't talk and Bakura just kept drumming his fingers on his knees and looking everywhere like he was about to leap out the window at any fucking second. All four of them…it looked almost like they were never going to recover if they found out that he wasn't okay."

Rebecca nodded slightly. It was pretty obvious that even with the way that Malik seemed unusually uncomfortable around the red-eyed teen, he still cared genuinely and it had made him seem a little strange with the fact that he was so silent…

"Did you notice it?" he asked suddenly, pulling his lips back in an awkward display of his teeth that was meant to be a smile but turned into more of a grimace, uneven and crooked and looking shaken. "They all seemed to just…start breathing again the moment that he regained consciousness."

The blonde nodded slightly; that was definitely true. She had seen the way that Seto and Mokuba had both seemed to regain the color to their faces, the way that Bakura looked ecstatic for that split second despite the way that he was trying to stop the bleeding in Yami's shoulder. She had witnessed Malik's expression go from worried to relieved so quickly that it was amazing.

Mostly she had seen the way that Yugi had gone from shaking like a leaf with Yami's jacket bunched up and pressed into his side to looking so heartbreakingly hopeful that it had honestly made her cringe.

Regardless, she nodded again and glanced at the red-eyed teen who shifted slightly but remained fast asleep.

"I guess I never really thought about how…I mean…" Yugi trailed off for a second, drumming his fingers against the cup in his hand and struggling to truly grasp his own thoughts, chewing his cheek in frustration with his stunning lack of knowledge to express himself. He sipped at his coffee to bide time, chewing on the edge for a moment before squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "I know how tight the bond goes between family members. I just…when I saw that, it just…I don't know. I guess it reminded me just how much harder my choice  _should_ have been."

She frowned and tilted her head. "What do you mean? You didn't just jump inside or anything. I—"

"It should have taken so much longer," Yugi stated simply, shaking his head and opening his eyes to stare at her with a sharp expression. "It shouldn't have taken me all of five fucking seconds. I think I only hesitated because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. I didn't hesitate when I ran into the warehouse. I didn't even think about it…"

"That's not the same—"

"Oh please, Rebecca," he spat, baring his teeth for a moment and withdrawing a little further into his seat, biting the edge of his cup again and glaring at the ground. "I would have hesitated if it had been anyone else. I wouldn't have just run straight into that. I would have thought it through and waited for one of the others to help me. But no, I find out that it's Yami in there and I'm running straight into a fire that was  _too_ hot,  _too_ bright, and  _too_ strong…"

She furrowed her brows in confusion at the statement; what the hell did that mean? Too hot, too bright and too strong? That made no sense…

"I blistered the shit out of my hand," he commented, snorting and unconsciously clutching the cup tighter as if he was afraid that she would ask to see; she was tempted to look at it, see if it needed to be bandaged, but he didn't budge and she knew that she wouldn't win a fight with him if it came down to it. "And I actually…I was about to lay down with him at one point. I was so fucking tired. I almost just laid down with him to die. But you didn't know that, did you?"

Rebecca blinked wide eyes and recoiled slightly, opening and closing her mouth before turning her head towards the other boy in the bed.

"I wouldn't have fucking done that with someone else. Do you realize? Even if it had been my grandpa in that fire, I wouldn't have done that. I would have tried to get him out and then I would have ended up giving in to self-preservation." He cast a fiery glare towards Yami, eyes wide and blazing as he breathed in sharply. "And yet, he's involved and I almost give up just long enough to lay down with him and let us get burned to death."

"Yugi—"

"Oh, and you know the only reason that I got up in the first place? It's because I swore I could hear Yami speaking, whispering in my ear, telling me about how in ancient Egypt, at the gate into the afterlife, they ask you two questions. Do you know what those two questions are?"

She shook her head mutely.

"Did you  _bring_ joy? Did you  _find_ joy?" Yugi snarled, baring his teeth and breathing raggedly once. "And I couldn't answer those questions. I couldn't do it. But it didn't matter that I couldn't answer the questions. I was more concerned about if  _Yami_ could. I was more concerned about if he had even experienced happiness in his life. That— _that_ is the  _only_ fucking reason that we got out of there. That is the  _one_ and  _only_ thing that got us out of there. Because I was tired. I was so fucking tired, I was ready to lay there and burn with him. I was over the idea of trying to live. I only got us out of there for him."

Rebecca opened and closed her mouth once before shaking her head slowly, unsure of what to say or do.

"I didn't get out of there for me. I didn't do it for my grandpa. I did it…for him. I actually fucking dragged him out of there because I couldn't think of a single instance in which I actually made him happy enough that he could answer those two questions," the boy spat, glancing at Yami sideways and tilting his head slightly. "And you know the worst part of it? The worst part of the entire experience? Of that entire fire?"

"Yugi—"

"He started  _apologizing_ to me. He woke up just long enough to tell me he was sorry. The stupid fucking bastard started saying he was sorry, he was so  _sorry_." He ground his teeth together. "Like he knew what he had done to me. Like he actually had every idea about just how close I was to giving up and he was sorry for even making me  _want_ to survive."

Rebecca stared at him for a moment and then slowly drew her attention to Yami, shivering slightly in her seat and feeling sick to her stomach.

"But then, while we were sitting out there, I realized what he was really apologizing for. He was apologizing for two things. First because he honestly didn't believe that he had ever made me happy and then because he survived. Because I dragged him out. He apologized for actually living through the entire thing," Yugi snarled quietly. "He  _apologized_ for it, Rebecca. He fucking  _apologized_!"

"Yugi…"

The other teen tuned away from her and stared at Yami for a moment, eyes blazing, and then slowly looked at the clock, expression full of disgust and anger and more than a little pain, making her heart ache for him.

"Maybe he didn't—I mean, maybe you misread what he meant when he—"

"No, Rebecca, I didn't misread it," he snapped. "He sat there, with me, and when I said it was good he was okay, he asked me if it really was. And he said it in that way that wasn't mad or condescending or anything short of just realistically puzzled, like he didn't know if he deserved to still be here or if any of it was actually true. He made it sound as if it was one of the most common statements ever, as if almost dying and wishing for death was the most normal thing ever."

He paused and tilted his head, glancing out the door to make sure no one was listening before turning back to her and lowering his voice to a whisper.

"I saved him. But I think he could have saved himself. I think maybe he wanted to die. And maybe I did too," he commented almost casually, a cruel note leaking into the undertone of his words with a snide smile. "I think I actually wanted to die just like him. And literally the only thing that saved us was the fact that I didn't know if I had ever once made him happy. That idea was enough to sink under my skin and make me want to save us both. If it wasn't for that stupid little myth, that voice in my ear, I wouldn't have bothered anymore."

The teen turned away and unconsciously pulled his hand away from his coffee, lightly rubbing it against his jacket before flipping it over to stare at his palm; Rebecca flinched away violently. His entire palm was a nasty bright red and faded orange color near his fingers, the door handle having melted through and scarred it to the point that a bit of flesh was missing in the middle. It looked disgusting and painful and she turned away immediately, gagging softly and fighting back a whimper.

"It doesn't hurt," he commented suddenly with a slightly whimsical note. "It's like all my pain doesn't exist anymore. My heart hurts by my hand just feels…tingly when I use it. Does that say anything to you about how much I care?"

"About Yami?" she asked, keeping her face turned away and shifting awkwardly to put a couple of inches between them; that burn flashed in the center of her mind and made her skin crawl violently for a moment.

"About myself," he snapped. "I used to be all about worrying about myself above anyone aside from Grandpa or you or Tea or Joey or Tristan. Friends and family. Those were the only two things that came before me when I was in a dire situation. Now, all of that is gone. It's him. It's simply  _him_."

"Yugi…"

"See, it comes to this. If it had been a question of which one of us was to go in that single moment, of whether or not I would sacrifice myself for him, I would have done it in a heartbeat," he stated. "You all be damned. I didn't give a single flying fuck about the rest of you when we were in that fire. I cared about him and nothing else. I didn't care about myself and you don't realize how horrifying a feeling that is, how morbid or disgusting or  _painful_ a reality that single realization is!"

"Okay, so you put him above yourself, above the rest of us," Rebecca stated, shaking her head slowly with a scared expression, studying his face and feeling sick again at the way that his eyes flashed and his lip curled slightly like a furious animal. "I get it. I—"

"No, you don't fucking get it, Rebecca. You don't understand!" he snapped. "Do you actually think that this will last forever? That my feelings for him—his feelings for  _me_ —will stay strong rather than fade? What do I do when that's not even a possibility anymore? If I'm willing to risk my life for him, willing to lay with him in a fire and just  _die_  and only care to get up because I can't answer a question as simple as if he was happy, then what happens when it's over? When those feelings fade between us? What then?"

"H-huh?"

"Nothing is forever. No matter how much you want it," he growled, glancing at Yami from the corner of his eye and trembling once. "And when it falls apart as it inevitably  _will_ , what do I do then? What does he do? Who else is going to die with it?"

"I don't…Yugi, you're scaring me."

"Good. Then maybe you can actually understand how I feel and what I want to know."

She blinked once, long and slow, and shivered again at the frosty gleam in his gaze.

"What if me and Yami, what if we last for a really long time and then something just…you know, breaks? Shatters? Dies away? Do you think I'll actually have the strength to try to recover from it? Or do you think I'll just fall with it? And…which is the worse choice? Is it worse to die with it slowly or is it worse to just try to walk past it?" He tilted his head slowly. "Both of them seem terrible, in all actuality. And I have no way of knowing which I would choose if it happened. I don't think I could move past it, not after yesterday. Not after I almost died in that fire just because it would have meant I was  _with_ him. I don't think I have the choice of picking myself up and trying to walk away. I think I would die, a slow and painful little death."

His gaze grew curious, wistful.

"It makes me wonder if he would even care, if he would be there for my tiny funeral," he muttered. "I've literally, without even thinking about, flipped my entire life around for him, do you realize that? I gave it no real thought when I slept with him the first time. I turned my back on what I was always thinking meant  _something_ to me. I didn't think about it when I didn't once look back on Tea after being with him. I never thought about telling him no. I never thought about loving someone before. I never even considered that it was actually something to be real enough to acknowledge and yet, I was willing to fucking run straight into a burning warehouse and think about curling up at his side and sleeping with him one last time before I died. I put him ahead of everyone else. That doesn't…I've never done that. I've never had the impulse to just really throw myself out there for another person because I thought I…loved them."

Rebecca frowned and remained silent, unsure of what to say to him because she was relatively sure he didn't want her to actually speak and she had no answers in the first place. She felt like she was both afloat and drowning all at once with this conversation and it was scary but exhilarating and when it came down to it, she wasn't really sure she could wrap her head around the entire meaning of the conversation as it was…

Yugi shifted his coffee cup from one hand to the other and studied the logo that it sported, shaking his head slowly and closing his eyes to fight off the sting of coming tears that he knew he wouldn't be able to cut off if he started.

"Do you…do you know how he looks at me?" he murmured suddenly, voice cracking as he traced his nails over the paper and tipped his head away from her. "He looks at me…like I'm perfect even though he knows I am far from it. He stares at me like I am some kind of precious jewel. Or the only person alive. And I love it so damn much but at the same time, it's almost as terrifying as everything that happened yesterday. Do you understand that? I'm scared to say it back to him because if I do and we don't work out, what do I do with the broken pieces? I don't…I honestly don't think I have the strength to walk away with my head held high and no regrets. I would drown, simply because it would be easier and because I can, because it's so much simpler to do. But I'm afraid of drowning because it's scarier than trying to walk away from it. I don't…I don't know what to do with myself, with this entire situation."

He paused and shook his head. "I spent all night thinking. I tried to come up with a solution to it all. But all I could think of was whether I had ever made him happy, if he was ever truly overjoyed by me being with him, around him, like he makes me at times. All I could think about was the fire. About giving up. About how Yami mattered more to me than…" He trailed off and shook his head. "Trying implies that you are allowed to fail. I don't  _want_ to fail, especially not at something like this. He  _loves_ me. He was drunk but he still fucking  _worshipped_ me. But when it comes down to it, he's so soft and I'm so hard. We don't…I don't think a middle ground really exists between us. Not anymore. Maybe it did before but definitely not now…"

She was not really sure what he was talking about, but she did know that if Yugi really wanted to, really tried, worked at it, if he worked  _with_ Yami rather than  _around_ him, then they could  _find_ it.

But she didn't have the words to put that in the air between them and so instead let the silence speak for her.

The blue-violet-eyed boy didn't move for a long minute, staring blankly at the other male, sipping at his coffee slowly with his gaze never once straying. "I can't…I'm still reeling from just how much things have changed, just how violently I've lost control of it all and let him take from me without even realizing," he commented quietly, drumming his fingernails softly. "I've never let someone influence my life so much, allowed them to weasel their way in and make themselves the focal point. It's not something I've ever even considered and yet somehow he managed it without even making me think twice."

Rebecca stayed quiet, biting the inside of her cheek and glancing at Yami once from the corner of her eye before turning back to him with a small breath that she controlled sharply in order to keep from letting it turn into a sigh.

Yugi narrowed his eyes and a single tear fell down his cheek, catching the light but not sustaining it; he didn't have to think about it to know that the rest were just dying to overflow immediately after.

"My natural reaction is to shy away from threats and violence, like everyone else's is. Yet you put Yami into the mix and I'm ready to throw myself into it. I have never really thought to fight someone unless it was completely unavoidable. But Joey called  _him_ a bitch and I was ready to tear his head off," Yugi murmured, chewing his cheek. "Alister shoves him against the wall and I'm all about making sure he never so much as looks at him. Ushio attacks him in the cafeteria during that fire drill and I'm there about to beat the shit out of him with a fucking  _chair_."

He shook his head and she moved the box of doughnuts to the rolling tray that was seated next to the bed, reaching up to run a hand through her blonde hair and watching the monitor because it was easier to keep her eyes on than the boy next to her.

"And then Seto tells us that Yami got caught and I'm wondering which direction is up, which is down, how to breathe and how fast I can turn and flee with my tail between my legs," he hissed darkly, narrowing his eyes. "Tell me, Rebecca, because I don't know the answer and it makes me want to beat my own head in. If my first instinct is to run away when I am even slightly rattled, how the fuck am I supposed to stay with him?"

"You don't think that Yami would be strong enough to make you stay and fight?"

Yugi burst out laughing and shook his head slowly, eyes glimmering shards of blue-violet ice and pure unhappiness. "He is," he stated, grinding his teeth together. "But I don't know if he would exert it on me if I attempted to run. I don't know if he would do so when he wouldn't even save his own life. But even if he could, if he did, what happens then? What happens if I still run and he doesn't bother to follow me or make me stay? What happens  _then_? What if I always run and he never bothers to  _chase_?"

She bit back her initial response that she had a feeling Yami would always chase him—to hell and back if he only asked it—and instead dragged her eyes from the screen to the sleeping boy and refused to look towards Yugi.

"Nothing in life is guaranteed," she finally muttered, not surprised when he didn't look at her or wipe at his eyes. "You just have to work with it and find your way. Maybe you and Yami won't work out, but maybe you will. Wouldn't you rather have  _tried_ and  _failed_ and fallen,  _experienced_  it for yourself rather than just  _thinking_ about it?"

Silence was the only thing that greeted her words for ten full long minutes and then she saw his shoulders shake from the corner of her eye, head snapping around as he pressed his hand against his eyes and finally let go. "I can't…if he's not…W-what happens if he decides it's not worth waking up?" He paused for a second before snarling, "I don't fucking understand him! I don't fucking understand why he fought so fucking hard in the first place if he was just going to roll over and lay there like that!"

For a moment neither of them spoke, instead listening to his heavy, rasping breaths as he coughed a couple of times and turned away, ducking his head.

"I don't understand why he would give up so easily. Not after he told me he loves me so many times. I don't…How can he bother saying that and then just not even  _attempt_  to fight?"

"Yugi…has he ever…asked you out?" she murmured, trying both to change the subject and to grasp at straws she had no real right to acknowledge in the first place.

"No." Yugi shook his head violently and Rebecca winced. "But he keeps—he  _kept_ saying that he loves me. And that…that's not true. It can't be if he…"

"Maybe he didn't want to fight anymore because he didn't think that you cared enough for him to do it," she managed, swallowing at a lump in the back of her throat and fighting off a weak whine at the sensation of trying to comfort him and failing so miserably; guilt swirled through her stomach and left her lungs constricting momentarily. "Maybe he didn't think that you loved him back…?"

Yugi stayed quiet for a moment, voice coming out distressed and slightly higher in pitch, choked and frantic. "I don't…I don't get why he would…" He bristled and huffed loudly, voice icy as he sniffled. "Why does everyone want to fucking complicate everything? Why can they never leave everything as it is, as it  _should_ be? I love my freedom. We see each other a bunch as it is and I…"

"Complicate things?" she echoed in confusion, eyes widening as she tilted her head with a small frown.

"I don't…I never once meant to become so attached to him in the first place," Yugi whispered weakly, pulling his hand away to grab at his cup of coffee, bowing his head and pulling the beverage to sit in his lap. "I'm scared enough knowing just how deeply it runs. I don't need it announced to everyone else. And what would happen if we split up?  _When_ we split up? Things get messy when you're attached to someone else. P-plus, when you're dating you end up…giving each other gifts and things and…breakups are nasty and hurt and you have to give everything back. But that doesn't erase the memories and then they're suddenly all that's left, bringing around so much  _pain_ …"

"Yugi…if Yami wasn't going to make it"—Yugi spun on her with a sharp look that clearly said she had no idea what she was talking about and he was going to do it—"could you handle it?"

The boy flinched away, turning his hand and mumbling, "No. I can't…I already know I couldn't…" so softly that she almost missed it, eyes widening with shock when he suddenly spun on her and pulled her tightly into him, the coffee cup seeming to be the only thing she could see for a moment from where it was tightly caught between his legs. "If he doesn't want to wake up and he…What am I going to do, Rebecca? I love him and I might not even get the chance to tell him!"

Awkwardly she rubbed at his shoulders and moved to pull her head up to lay her chin on his shoulder, glancing over at Yami for a moment. It was probably best that he got his dramatics out now and let his fear overtake him for a short time so that when he could think and see straight again, he would find Yami at the end of it all.

Because she had a feeling, deep in her gut, so strong that it made her want to be sick, that he was going to wake up.

A conversation didn't follow that statement and it died as it was, taking a full hour and a half for him to finally subside enough in his fear to pull away from her, blue-violet eyes immediately on Yami, studying the monitor and the sleeping boy before hesitantly busying himself with the task of sipping his coffee.

"Hey Yugi?"

"Yeah?"

She hesitated for a moment and then sighed. "Your grandpa is being discharged in an hour," she muttered, getting to her feet and leaving the doughnuts behind, walking out of the room and down the hall.

* * *

"I find it curious that you filtered out the noise of your partner's words with the blonde girl," Atem murmured, frowning at him thoughtfully, puzzled when his descendant scoffed and shook his head, turning away.

"I have no right to eavesdrop on their private conversations."

"Truly? Not even when it concerns you?"

"No, not even then."

"Not even when he says he loves you?"

Yami flinched away as if he had been smacked and Atem sat up a little straighter.

"Ah, so you did hear them then."

"It was not…by choice."

"Regardless, you heard it. That is all that matters…" He stayed silent for a long minute. "So…are you going to return to the real world or hide inside this Puzzle for the rest of your days until your body shrivels and becomes nothing more than a wrinkly sack of skin?"

The red-eyed teen tilted his head towards him and shook it slowly, tuning away again. "I don't…I know what I plan to do, but I still haven't figured out what to do with Yugi. I can't go back there if I am still indecisive."

"Hmm…Well, you do know your options and you know his opinion on the situation as well. I suppose that should give you some kind of hint of what to do, yes?" the pharaoh murmured, turning away and humming softly, dismissively.

"Oh yes, but curiously enough that still does not help me," he stated simply, rolling his eyes and cupping the Puzzle around his neck, glancing at the one that lay against the spirit's stomach, and then around himself slowly. "There are three Puzzles. The irony is funny in the most pathetic of ways…"

"Why must you always stall for time?"

"Because I'm not ready," Yami snapped. "And I can't…I refuse to make the wrong choice. And that would be so easy to do if I am not careful."

"Caution is sometimes a dangerous tool. Especially when it comes to your own happiness," Atem stated quietly, frowning at him. "Perhaps it would be wise to…rid yourself of it and think with your heart instead?"

The red-eyed teen stared at him for a long minute, swallowing hard and turning away. "I don't know how to do that," he murmured weakly. "I've never tried it before."

"You did when you told Yugi you loved him."

"I was drunk. That was more lack of impulse control and not even thinking before I said it."

"I meant the many times afterwards."

"Oh yeah, a lot of good that ever did me."

"Very well. Suit yourself, boy," he stated, shrugging and going to stand in front of him; the teen refused to look at him for a long minute but then finally jerked his head defiantly in his direction, chin raised and eyes cold. The spirit smiled slightly in amusement and then plopped down in a crisscrossed position in front of him, watching him with a curious gleam to his eyes.

"What? What is it that interests you so much that you have to come all the way over here?" Yami hissed in annoyance.

"You," he stated simply, shrugging. "Your turmoil. It amuses me and breaks my heart."

"You still have one?"

"It is…more of a spiritual resemblance with phantom feelings, but yes, if you wish to call it that…" Atem leaned back on his hands and continued watching him, tilting his head and smiling minutely. "You wish to know what I would choose but you already do…"

"Apparently my ancestor is a hopeless romantic."

The spirit frowned slightly, furrowing his brows faintly. "I like the idea of following one's heart but I would not say that I am hopeless," he finally murmured a full minute later.

Yami chuckled in amusement. "It's just an expression." He paused and searched his face. "I guess it really was the Puzzle that made you act that way before, huh?"

"It…is a number of circumstances that made me such a way," he stated with a small shrug. "None of which did your hesitance help."

"Please don't rush me right now. I'm trying to figure out what I should do."

Atem sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know what you should do, you're just being a little bitch and not doing it," he scoffed, eyes gleaming with challenge.

"You say that because you think it's true what he said before. But it's not. He's just scared." Yami shrugged and turned away from him, playing with the thick chain holding the Puzzle around his neck; fear and  _this_. "But you've been dead for so long that I don't suppose that you know what fear even is anymore. Not to mention that you were pharaoh. So let's think about this for a moment, shall we? You could decree anyone your little love slave or force them into marriage, not that you actually needed to with all the power you had in the first place."

"Calling on my status of pharaoh does nothing but show just how much a coward you truly are."

"I agree. I am a coward. I am afraid that he merely says these things out of fear. Or because the Puzzle influences him to. Shame on me for my cowardice."

"You heard him speaking with the blonde. He was willing to die for you.  _With_ you."

"Yes, I am well aware."

"And yet you're still afraid that it's nothing but fear that makes him say such a thing?"

"Do you know what fear  _is_ , Atem?"

"Yes, I had a scare just recently," he snapped. "I had them when I was still your age too and yet, I never backed down."

"We're not the same," Yami spat. "I'll be the first to admit that I'm not as strong as you, okay? Is that what you want? For me to say that?"

"I have no desire to hear that."

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint."

"I am not disappointed. I merely wish that you were not such a slave to your fears. It's rather disgusting."

"Then go back to the afterlife already," Yami snapped, bristling and getting to his feet. "Go back and don't worry about me. I don't—"

"You may feel that you neither want it nor need it," Atem spat, getting up as well and glaring into his eyes. "But it changes nothing. I am going to worry regardless. You are, after all, my kin, no matter the amount of generations passed. And it is you who wears my Puzzle."

"Does that bother you?" Yami asked quietly, tilting his head. "I've always wondered if that was why you showed up like you did. I wouldn't have been surprised. Or why you are still here."

"That is hardly the reason for either of those two events. Don't twist it around."

"Then tell me something, Atem. When you are with me, do I force you or do you do so of your own free will?"

"…I am bound to the Puzzle. But that does not dictate my existence."

Yami remained silent for a long minute and then finally turned away, chewing his cheek. "I am not so arrogant as to ignore the fact that you helped me with the Puzzle and the sacrifice and even before that. So thank you."

"You are my kin," Atem stated simply. "I will always help you."

"If you are bound to the Puzzle even in death, was it what killed you?"

The ancient Egyptian snorted in amusement and lifted his own Puzzle, smiling at it for a moment. "This? No. I was bound to it when I was six, yes, but I was the one to spill my blood and accept it. I never took it off even when I slept. It protected me. It has never harmed me. It did not kill me."

"Then…?"

"Death eludes me," the pharaoh stated, flipping the upside down pyramid around to look at the eye. "But I do remember the moment that it entered my life. You do not forget such a powerful item such as it."

* * *

He knocked on the door hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to talk to him but mostly uneasy about the idea of not being there in case Yami suddenly woke up, looking down the hall towards the other boy's room and feeling sick to his stomach as he turned back around.

"Yugi."

"Hey Grandpa," he murmured, walking a few steps inside and feeling his stomach twist violently; it felt almost like betrayal but at the same time, he had chosen Yami over his grandfather before and he had to see him. It wasn't a question, it was a necessity.

Well, he certainly  _looked_ happy enough to see him so he supposed he couldn't be too mad about him not being there when he first woke up, but then again, maybe he didn't  _know_ he had picked someone over him yet.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up," he muttered, guilt making his heart hurt and his fingers twitch inside of his jacket pockets; now the question was whether it was over that or being so far from Yami's room. From his  _side_. Oh gods, he was going to be sick if he didn't get back there soon…

"No you're not," Solomon stated, laughter in his eyes as he gestured him over; Yugi glanced out the door once, chewing his cheek, but didn't turn away, immediately walking over to him and taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to him. "Now tell me about him. How is he doing?"

"Huh?"

"Atem. Yami…whatever he goes by. Tell me about him. How is he?"

Yugi stared at him as if he had grown three heads but slowly muttered, "How did you know…?"

"Well, there's that light in your eyes that seems pretty damn dull right about now," Solomon snorted, smiling and wrapping an arm around his small grandson to pull him a little closer. "And that light hasn't always been there. Just since around the time that you two started messing around."

" _Grandpa_!" he hissed.

"Well, aren't  _you_ dirty minded," he snickered, causing Yugi's cheeks to turn bright red as he bowed his head. "I meant when you two would argue. Those dogfights were hilarious, by the way. The ones that I heard you guys having anyways. Those were great. I almost wanted to record you two fighting."

Yugi's skin prickled and burned, his neck growing just as flushed as his face, his ears taking on the tint as well and his eyes widening drastically. " _Grandpa_!" he whined. "Stop it!"

"You're too easy to tease. No wonder Yami liked doing it."

"Grandpa, seriously! Stop!"

"All right. All right." The elder Motou paused for a moment and then reached up and stroked at his hair, something he hadn't done since he was a kid; for a moment Yugi wanted to burst into tears just from the entire situation and the comfort he was attempting to offer, and his stomach flipped violently with the thought.

"Did the nurses tell you he was here?" he finally mumbled after a long minute of silence; his grandpa started laughing at his side and Yugi smiled the smallest bit, that guilt in his stomach growing with the slight curve of his lips.

"No, I just guessed that was what this was about. They said you were in the hospital somewhere around here. They just didn't say where."

Yugi tipped his head towards the clock for a second, staring at the minute hand for a moment, and then turned his attention to the door, looking at the bright fluorescents and narrowing his eyes slightly. He wondered if Seto had made it so that none of the nurses would talk about his cousin being in the hospital; he knew he had done so with the incident with his father, if only because Yami would have gotten angry about it otherwise, so he wouldn't be surprised if that was what he had done this time too.

"Oh."

Why wasn't he mad? Yugi would have preferred him mad. He had gone and chosen someone else over him. Yami had knocked him into second place when it came to priorities, the first person ever to be able to claim that he had chosen them over his grandfather.

"Fine, allow me to take a g—"

"Someone kidnapped him," Yugi cut in coldly, glaring at a nurse who was very obviously trying to eavesdrop, the redhead immediately scurrying out of the hallway for wherever the fuck she was needed and leaving the small teen almost tempted to slam the door shut. "They held him in that warehouse at the docks as ransom for his father. He ended up catching the place on fire and then got shot so…I don't know. It's whatever. He's being highly medicated and he's in a coma."

"Coma?"

"Yeah, but it's drug-induced. They're trying to make sure that none of his internal wounds get any worse before they let him wake up." Yugi chewed his cheek and prayed that his grandfather wouldn't recognize the lie on his tongue; he may not have been a medical expert but he'd been in and out of the hospital enough to know when something wasn't right when it came to descriptions. And besides that, he thought maybe his voice sounded funny when he delivered that statement. Because it wasn't drug-induced. Yami was just…apparently in a coma. That Seto was convinced was just him sleeping.

He ground his teeth together. Seto could kiss his ass if he thought that he was just going to take that statement without question. Yami may have had weird reactions to medication, but how the fuck did that result in him sleeping like this? He hadn't woken up the entire time he had been there…

The reminder of the situation made it  _that_ much harder to just be with his grandpa instead of the red-eyed teen.

Yami.

 _His_ Yami.

"Ah."

Yugi wanted to smack him for such a simple response, fighting back a tremor and clamping his teeth into his tongue to keep from snarling in frustration.

All of this waiting and being away from him would drive him insane.

"You know…coma patients can hear you."

The small teen stiffened and turned his head. "What?"

"They can hear you when you talk. Hearing is the last sense to go when you die."

"Are you suggesting that I try talking to him to make him wake up?" he hissed coldly. "Because that movie miracle bullshit doesn't happen in real life."

Solomon held his hands up. "I didn't say that. I just thought it was a fun fact."

"Well keep your stupid fun facts to yourself," he snarled, turning away and glaring out the door again, clenching his fists tightly and feeling sick to his stomach with annoyance and a fear that ripped at his insides like flames lapping at the air. His body was too tense and his eyes were starting to burn… "Sorry."

"No you're not."

"Grandpa, can't you just accept an apology without—?"

"Go back to him already. You came and talked to me now go back."

"No, I—"

"Go. Back."

If the situation wasn't so messed up, he probably would have ended up laughing and asking him if he had a hot date with one of the nurses and didn't want him to know, but now he was too scared and tired to get up and leave the room but he didn't want to talk to his grandpa either and he kind of wanted to throw up but he didn't have the energy and if he couldn't get a grip he thought his head might explode…

"I love him. Did you know that?" he blurted out suddenly, cringing at his own voice and then feeling worse for the statement, turning his head and adding, "I picked staying with him over you. Did anyone tell you that?"

Solomon was quiet for a second and Yugi really wished someone would just stab him somewhere…maybe just enough to draw blood because he was starting to wonder if his heart was actually working anymore.

"No one had to tell me any of that."

He swallowed hard but couldn't find it in him to flinch at the statement.

"I—"

"Stop. It's not worth an apology. I'm glad that you finally chose someone else for a change. You worry about me too much."

"I wouldn't have to if you would just listen to the fucking doctors," he snarled angrily, glaring at him coldly and clenching his jaw to speak through his teeth. "If you didn't wander off to Egypt so constantly or refuse to ask for help with reaching the things that you  _know_ you have no right getting off the shelf in the first place or fucking stop eating so goddamned much crap, I wouldn't have  _had_ to choose Yami over you. I wouldn't have had to choose in the first place. It would have been easy because you wouldn't have  _been_ here!"

Solomon blinked once and then smiled a little, shaking his head slightly while Yugi glared at him in frustration and fought back the urge to just raise his hand and smack him; gods, how could he just be so fucking stupid and annoying and…!

"Grandpa…"

"Yugi, tell me something."

" _What_?" he spat. "What the fuck do you want to know  _now_?"

"Would you even  _know_ how much he meant to you if you hadn't been forced to choose between us?"

Yugi stopped short and stared at him for along minute, really taking him in before getting to his feet, skin crawling; his ears were ringing now, frustration making his heart beat too fast, and he wanted to smack him so hard that his hand actually tingled with delight at the very thought.

"Yes," he snapped coldly, quietly, bristling. "I would have realized it without choosing between you because I—"

The small teen shut his mouth immediately; he didn't need his grandpa knowing about the fire, about the fact that he had been that close to letting himself die, to potentially killing himself. He subconsciously tucked his hand into his pocket and bunched it into a fist, aching to feel some pain and chewing his cheek when there was nothing to be felt. Why couldn't he feel it?

He wanted to  _feel_ it.

He wished for the sting that would come with the action almost as much as he wished for Yami to wake up quickly, almost as much as he craved the way that the other teen's slender fingers felt against his skin as he whispered in his ear and purred and…made love to him.

He wondered if it was the pain or the normalcy that it represented that he truly gave a shit about, confused by the sensation but refusing to truly acknowledge it.

"Because you…?" his grandfather coaxed gently, blinking large plum eyes and tilting his head.

Yugi shook his head in response. "Nothing," he muttered, turning on his heel and heading for the door, pausing and looking at him over his shoulder. "When I get back to the house, I'm going to fucking purge the place of your shitty little junk food. And then I'm going to seriously kick your ass if you keep pushing it."

Solomon chuckled. "Delightful."

He glowered and then wandered out of the room, heading down the hall again back in the direction he had come; he wasn't really sure what he had been expecting when it came down to it, but maybe it had been the deep-rooted hope that Yami would have woken up. Of course he hadn't and when he stepped into the room, his heart sputtered and shook in his chest for a second, but settled again after a long moment.

He was going to be okay.

He would have to be…

Yugi took a seat in the chair he had been occupying before, pulling his legs up and wrapping his arms around them and watching him with a blank stare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


	26. I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh  
> Story is OFFICIALLY finished  
> Chapter Warning: Chapter has sexual content (lemon), mentions of blood, date rape drug called Ketamine, alcohol...  
> Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "We'll work it out, Yami. All of it. You're worrying and you don't need to. I won't run again." If you don't think you'll remember, use F and Ctrl and put the sentence in. Use the Find function to highlight the words and then read until you reach them.  
> Lemon Note: Final lemon of story as this is the final chapter. Very big lemon for story.  
> Enjoy the LAST chapter of "Simple" :)  
> SORRY for the late posting. Things got really crazy over here. Hectic as crap and I planned to post it like five times before now but each time it kind of didn't make sense to do so just then AND things just kept getting busier.  
> Note: Dungeon Dice Monsters is changed and combined with the RPG that they played in season 0 against Bakura as well as the deck master system that Noah had in virtual world.  
> Date Rape Drug Warning: If it makes you uncomfortable, do NOT read where Yami and Ryou are talking about getting drunk as the drug comes in directly after that. (It is NOT used the way the warning implies but rather for getting information but either way!) Skip to the scene directly afterwards where Yami and Yugi are talking.

Chapter XXVI: I Love You

"You should probably wake up," Atem advised quietly, frowning at the teen who continued pulling on some of the doors and poking his head in, looking comically disappointed every time one of them turned up as bare as the first. He fought off a chuckle at the way his descendant pursed his lips and paced a couple of steps before spinning around again as if expecting something to have suddenly appeared inside of the empty room.

Yami blinked after a long moment, reining in his disappointment, and turned to him with his head tilted and his eyes distinctly unhappy. "I don't want to."

"You have no reason to remain here, Yami," his elder stated with his unique violet-speckled eyes narrowed into slits. "Your body is healed. You are merely trying to avoid what you have to do."

"Don't call me out on my cowardice," the teen snapped, bristling and fighting back a small shiver. "Play nice. We're not all fucking pharaohs, okay?"

"You're going to continue using that as an excuse forever, aren't you?"

"As long as I can sufficiently milk that shit, I will do so. Why not?"

"It gets very old very quickly."

"Oh fuck off, Atem."

Atem sighed loudly and rolled his eyes in exasperation; Yami swore the movement was so exaggerated that he could literally hear it, cringing and wrinkling his nose at him with a shake of his head. That was honestly not a noise that he had wanted to hear at any point in his lifetime. It was disgusting to hear, even if he was relatively sure his mind had just made it up at some point.

"Gross."

"What? You mean that wasn't a teenage reaction?"

"Oh yes, it definitely was, but the way you did it," the teen hissed, curling his lip back and narrowing his eyes into slits when he realized that Atem was smirking widely at him now. "You fucking asshole."

"What?" he snickered innocently, a purr curling its way around his words. "It's hilarious making you explain things you don't have to."

"Fuck off, Atem." He turned back towards the path in front of him and started walking quickly, starting towards the door to his left and reaching out for the knob; he found it kind of hilarious that the entire set of empty chambers had doorknobs like this. It was so weird a concept that it made him smirk in amusement.

The former pharaoh sighed and walked after him, crossing his arms and snorting when Yami poked his head inside and then pulled back with another wide frown of disappointment. "There is nothing to see here, Yami."

"Have you ever explored the entire Puzzle?"

"Not…no," he finally muttered, frowning. "I don't…suppose that I have."

"Then back off. You have no idea."

"This is pathetic. You are wasting time."

"I _know_ what I am doing, Atem."

"It's _pathetic_."

"Shut up already."

He sighed again and continued following, glancing around them curiously; the entire Puzzle seemed almost endless but he was pretty sure there was only a path that _appeared_ to go further upwards but truly led downwards, upside down, and that they would end up wandering back to the place that they had begun. Yami wouldn't know that, of course, because the Puzzle had illusions for illusions on top of other illusions but maybe if he kept going around in circles he would get tired of it all eventually. He had to…right? There was no way he wouldn't get tired of the same doorways and the Puzzle's gleaming golden brick setting. Truly he couldn't be so desperate to escape the real world that he would remain here forever, just trying out the doors and pretending that maybe one day something would just pop up, right?

Atem studied him for a moment, drawing in the lean build of his descendant that mirrored his own and really wondering if he could be so weak as to wish to stay there forever. He knew that there wasn't much of a reason to suspect he would; Yami was never that weak in the first place. He knew that already because if he had ever been that weak, he wouldn't have left the Puzzle at all, let alone gone after Pegasus and the others _just_ to do that sacrifice to appease the Item.

He might have even tried to get a swap of partners when the project had come up, just to avoid the idea of even getting _close_ to another boy. Then again, he was friends with Mahado so maybe that wasn't that correct an assumption. And he did hang out with a few others in the meantime, when he was helping tutor or just sitting in class or giving homework answers or whatever. Atem tilted his head and frowned; then again, Yugi _was_ his soul catcher so maybe that wasn't something that he could have avoided in the first place…

Soul catchers had those ties to each other that nothing could ever truly break and it was dangerous to even assume something had the power to do so. Magic bonds like that were even stronger than the powers of the Items all put together.

"Don't you _miss_ him?" he finally asked, cutting into the silence that had developed just efficiently enough to make them both pause, the statement the kind that just kind of escaped before he had gotten the chance to even truly consider what he was saying.

The red-eyed teen stopped short and turned his head to glance at him over his shoulder; the pharaoh fought back a flinch but didn't look away. They stared at each other for several long moments that felt like hours passing between them, both unwilling to so much as glance away from one another. Yami wasn't really sure why he refused to turn away, except that maybe Atem would see it as weakness but his tone had been nothing but puzzled. So he really had no idea why he was bristling and felt sick and defensive all at once like this.

"Surely you must, right?"

Yami clenched his jaw until it felt almost impossible to undo, the muscles strained and clamped while his teeth ground together. There it was. Now he remembered why.

Atem was innocently asking questions but it was in such a pointed way that it was disgustingly obvious just what was going on with his inquiry. He was pointing out the obvious, trying to make Yami buckle under the implications, to make his mind turn towards what he _needed_ to do rather than what he wanted. Manipulation in its simplest form.

"You already know the answer to that."

"Then why do you still hesitate?"

"You already know the answer to that too."

Atem reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in an impatient gesture of irritation, breathing out such a long sigh that Yami was half-surprised that it didn't echo in the cavernous space around them. The former pharaoh shook his head and watched him through his long lashes as he yanked open yet another door, completely disregarding him as if he was just a figment of his imagination once more. "There is nothing to be found inside of this Puzzle, Yami. And you are running out of rooms to bide time in."

" _Actually_ , Atem, the more I explore, the more the Puzzle changes around and more paths appear."

The spirit covered his face with his palm, unsure of whether Yami was serious about this statement and was under the lure of the Puzzle's magic or if he was just being a ridiculous little shit and trying _successfully_ to piss him the fuck off. "Go _back_. Eventually all of them are going to get concerned."

"You say that like they aren't already," Yami snorted dismissively, happily beginning an exploration down the next hallway and humming once, ignoring his sigh and continuing to open yet another door.

"Exactly!" Atem stated with a hiss of disapproval chasing his words, underlying his tone. "Your cousins are worried. _Yugi_ is worried. Why not show a little _compassion_ and go _back_?"

Yami spun on him, bristling and baring his teeth, about to snarl that he knew nothing of compassion or anything that was going on with him, but then stopped short, watching his face for a long moment. "Give me…three or four more hours and then I will go back," he muttered, clenching his jaw at the bitter taste that took up residence on his tongue with the statement; by the gods, he didn't think he could find even the _slightest_ of solutions to _any_ of his numerous fears. They were all beginning to plague his mind and now in only three or four hours, he was supposed to go back and figure it all out. But, in retrospect, he had to admit that he agreed wholeheartedly with his ancestor; he had had been in the Puzzle for far longer than he had ever needed to be. He hadn't gotten anywhere in his habitual over-analysis of everything going on and now he was growing weary of being in a place that held no answers and no room to figure things out. The air was suffocating and weighted and it only made him feel as if he were going to be sick and he supposed that maybe being thrust back into the real world, where the issues were apparent and required his attention would give him more of a grasp of it all, more of a motivation for everything.

Or it could completely fuck him over worse. But either way, maybe that would be a good thing. Just as long as he got up, he didn't suppose it mattered too much in the first place, right?

Atem raised a brow. "You swear it?"

"You want to shake on it?" the teen quipped irritably.

"Why would I _shake_ when _you_ can just swear on it?" he asked in confusion.

Yami opened and closed his mouth with a shake of his head, resisting the urge to squeeze his eyes shut and scream. "Fucking hell."

* * *

Yugi picked at his hand, scraping his blunt nails over the burn spot to peel some of the dead skin away, flexing his fingers out; his palm kind of tingled every now and then when he stretched each of the muscles and sometimes the skin strained to the point that it honestly just hurt. He was still a little troubled by the lack of pain that came with it when he used it to grasp things, the way that it only hurt when he stretched it to its fullest. The doctors had looked at it, said that it was nasty and he should bandage it soon, some of them coaxing him to pop the bubble that had appeared there. He had already done it once before they had suggested the course of action, more than a little surprised to see that it had bubbled up yet again after he had fallen asleep for the night.

He didn't really care too much about it, however, and it was frustrating to think that _while_ trying to find something to distract him from everything that was already going on as it was. The burn was honestly probably the only source of entertainment he had besides the television but he didn't care enough to mess with that and he was both afraid of focusing on the problem too much and not focusing _enough_.

Yami still wasn't waking up. A whole three days had passed and he still wasn't waking up; Seto had said it would be a day. A _day_. And yet, Yami was still asleep, still perceived as being in a coma by the rest of the goddamned hospital. He wasn't stirring, he wasn't playing around, he wasn't doing much aside from occasionally rolling over in his sleep, and it was starting to frustrate the hell out of the blue-violet-eyed boy. Half the time he had to fight himself to keep from trying to wake him up forcefully; the only thing that truly kept him completely safe from doing so was the fact that he would be kicked out of the hospital if he did and it wasn't worth it.

Yugi sat back in his seat, looking his hand over; it had popped again recently, the third time, and now it was oozing out pinkish puss that eventually drained and ran red. He didn't really care enough to bother with it despite the persistence of several of the nurses. One of which had claimed that it could become infected and the infection could possibly spread to Yami if he wasn't careful. And that statement had honestly almost been enough to make him do so but the response he had given was "Good. The fucker will like that."

He huffed and crossed his legs impatiently, sitting back against the rest and tipping his head up to stare at the ceiling. When he drummed his fingers, his palm stung from where it was pressed against the wood and the chill of the furniture made his skin crawl, icy spikes of pain that made his head swim but left him with the urge to purr in amusement. As odd as it was, the pain was both laughable and satisfying in ways that he couldn't quite explain but left him smirking slightly, managing to keep it from growing to twice the size that it was.

"Well…I see that he's still asleep," a soft, new voice commented, Yugi looking up and staring in surprise at the other boy. The brown-eyed teen gave him a small gentle smile and wandered over to him, plopping into the seat beside the smaller teen. "Hey, Yugi."

He honestly had no idea whether to be nice or not and he still couldn't figure out what the hell was so off-putting about the other teen but there was _something_ and he hated it. "Ryou," he greeted flatly, narrowing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Malik didn't want to come and Bakura is stuck babysitting Mokuba. Apparently they both seem to think that Yami likes—"

Yugi let out a noise like a low growl and both of them froze in surprise, blinking at one another until he finally shifted away from him, bristling but not lowering his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he snapped. "Yami isn't awake. You can tell his shitty cousins that."

The albino frowned and nodded slightly, furrowing his brows as he looked him over, studying his expression for some kind of hint about his disdain towards him, surprised when all he could find was complete and utter hatred in those bright blue-violet eyes. He debated asking what the hell he had done to make him hate him like this but then fell silent, instead searching his face until the smaller teen's head snapped fully to face him and his eyes narrowing into gleaming slits of pure anger.

" _What_?" he snapped viciously, sitting up straighter and bunching his shoulders some. "You already know what the fuck is going on. Yami isn't awake. Why the hell are you still here?"

"I—"

"Shut up." Ryou nearly snapped at him but then stopped short when he too caught the tendrils of conversation that was coming from the hallway. Yugi looked out over his shoulder and stared through the doorway; the doctor and a nurse on Yami's case were talking about something. And he could have sworn part of it was something to do with the Puzzle.

The albino had to restrain himself from growing even angrier and telling him that he didn't have the right to speak to him like that especially when he hadn't done anything wrong in the first place but fell silent immediately as well, twisting around in his seat to look for what Yugi was seeing.

"I'm starting to worry that he may have some kind of heavy metal poisoning," the doctor was saying in a low voice. "That necklace—if it was worn inside of that fire—could have easily burned through his skin. If it's actually stuck inside of his _flesh_ it would be no surprise if he had gold poisoning."

"But none of us can get that necklace off of him. It hurts even attempting it…"

"Yes, I know. I _tried_ , remember? But that doesn't change the fact that it might be why he isn't waking up. It could easily be shutting down his liver and kidneys—"

"What the fuck is he talking about?"

Ryou blinked wide eyes and turned to him, opening and closing his mouth once before glancing over at Yami. "Gold compounds—like salt or something like that…They, when they get into the body, can cause serious reactions when they release an ion. It's called heavy metal poisoning…gold poisoning. Gold ions are known to…shut down the kidneys and liver if it isn't taken care of…and considering how Yami is still sleeping, despite not showing any signs of it openly, it could be happening. The drugs could be stunting the symptoms that are shown."

Yugi clenched his jaw, speaking through his teeth. "You said _salts_. But the metallic form? I thought that didn't harm people unless they had an allergy to it."

"You went in that fire. Do you think it's possible that the metal could have melted?"

The smaller teen chewed his cheek. "…I…I don't know. I guess…shit…"

"I'm not really sure if that would be enough to do it but gold is used in some medications…I guess if he was taking them and it—"

"Shut up already," he snapped, glancing at Yami. They couldn't do most of the tests they needed to because of Yami's Puzzle hanging around his neck. He remembered all of them bitching about that, how Seto had snapped at them to figure out a way around it and how none of them had managed it. He had heard them talking about how the machine had all _but_ exploded when they had attempted testing him with the Puzzle still around his neck. And then they couldn't get it off because it had caused one intern to apparently go completely blind and another to all but lose mobility in her right arm. If they couldn't get the Puzzle off because it hurt them, then what the fuck were they supposed to do? Yugi had no idea what the hell gold poisoning was in the first place; could it be contracted if the Puzzle's chain had melted into his skin and broken down in his tissue? He knew that some of the metal poisoning happened that way but he wasn't sure past that…

And Ryou wasn't offering answers as far as he was concerned, useless despite his medical studies. He only offered more frustration and confusion that made his head spin and his anger come out tenfold. Fucking moron that he was; doctor his _ass_.

He rolled his eyes and got to his feet just as he heard the doctor and nurse shuffling down the hall towards them; maybe he could get the Puzzle off…? Yugi reached out and retracted his hand just as fast, frowning. If he got burned, he was just going to be _pissed_. He already had one and that was honestly enough for him at the moment.

Yugi ignored them when they walked into the room, the way that they paused in the doorway, the small teen chewing his cheek and reaching out to grab the Puzzle; Yami twitched and his skin seemed to crawl beneath his touch, shifting as if recoiling, cold and a little frustrating to feel. He shook it off and slipped his fingers under the thick chain, more than a little surprised that it hadn't burned or lashed out at him as the others had claimed but at the same time not the least bit shocked by the outcome. He pulled it away just as the nurse cried out for him to stop and the doctor cursed that he was going to get himself hurt. The chain went from frozen to about the same temperature as his body, heating a little further as if in welcome, and then chilled again as he reached his other hand out to tip Yami's head up enough to pull it away from where it rested around his neck. It flared hotly, to the point that it almost burned but not quite, and then went cold again as he slipped it over the other boy's head, holding it in one hand and looking it over. Was the eye glowing? Yugi blinked a couple of times, staring at it; it looked almost as if it were glowing…

"You got it…"

"What the hell?"

"Yugi," Ryou muttered, laughing a little in amazement as he got to his feet and stared at it warily. "How the hell did you even manage that? It burned everyone else."

The smaller teen ignored him, stepping back several times and then glowering when the nurse reached for the Puzzle with a startled, "We need to see if we can find an ion that could have gotten into Mr. Sennen's—"

Ryou recoiled and the doctor's mouth fell open while Yugi merely stared, blinking wide eyes as she jerked her hand back with a cry and the smell of burning flesh hit the room. It had actually burned her…

Yugi bit back laughter and covered his mouth to keep the noise from bubbling out. Wow. He had thought they were honestly just being idiots when they had said that had happened but he had just _witnessed_ it even if he hadn't felt it.

"What the hell?"

Blue-violet eyes fell on her fingers where the skin was already blistering drastically.

_Wow_.

Yeah, maybe playing with the Puzzle was not a good idea. He glanced at Yami sideways for a second and then looked at the pendant in his grasp, studying it for a moment; he was pretty sure it was shining in the corners but he wasn't really sure when it came down to it and it was slightly unnerving but hilarious all at once.

"Now what? How are we supposed to test for a gold ion if—"

"It'll show up in his system if we test for gold," the doctor cut her off immediately, seeming exasperated with her lack of understanding; Yugi supposed she was an intern rather than an actual nurse judging by the inexperience but didn't bother to voice the idea. He stared at the Puzzle for a moment; the chain was getting slightly warmer…

Yugi ignored the way that Ryou opened his mouth to object—as if he would ever listen to him in the first place—and slipped it over his neck; for a split second his head pounded and his heart started to skip beats, his lungs constricting painfully, his body seizing up immediately, and then it was over. He blinked as the Puzzle's sharp edge touched his abdomen, slightly surprised by the way that it burned for a split second and then cooled off immediately again.

God, this stupid thing was weird, wasn't it?

He rolled his eyes as he headed over to take a seat and cross his legs once more, reaching up to cup the Puzzle subconsciously, running his fingers over the golden artifact, and watching as they started to wheel Yami's bed out of the room. He supposed they would do blood tests, maybe check on his organs, the whole package, but he already knew he wasn't allowed to go with them and so didn't bother to even entertain the thought or make the slightest attempt to do so.

Ryou stared at him for a long minute and then glanced at the clock before turning back. "I guess I'll go tell his cousins that he's fine."

Yugi glanced at him with narrowed eyes, voice lowered icily. "You are _not_ mentioning this to them."

"Didn't plan on it, no," he admitted.

"Good."

* * *

Yami was pretty sure that he had just run a full circle inside of the artifact, surprised now that he could see open doors laid out before him rather than the closed chambers that he felt he had no business entering despite the fact that he had been doing so for the last few hours. He came to a stop in the center of the room, glancing over in surprise when he found that Atem was seated on the floor, apparently playing with a deck of cards.

"What the fuck? I didn't know that you could have things in here!"

The pharaoh glanced up for only a moment. "You never asked."

"And you couldn't have just _told_ me?"

"Where would the fun be in giving you every answer you wanted?" Atem snorted dismissively, the beginnings of an amused smirk starting to curve his lips. "How boring a life you would lead if I were to do that, don't you think?"

He was pretty sure the spirit had said that before at one point, but he wasn't about to delve into that train of thought, instead frowning as he started towards him. "Solitaire?"

"Attempting it," he admitted with a frown, glancing at him through his lashes as he played another card. "But it seems to be rather irritating and boring."

"Then why are you playing it?"

"I like a challenge."

Yami blinked. "Fucking hell, that's where I get it from!"

"But of course."

He nodded slightly and glanced around the area for a moment, taking in the gleaming bricks and frowning. "Why are all the rooms empty anyways?"

Atem shrugged. "I don't know. I have a theory that it's for each of the people who were killed to create it. Or maybe they just happen to be the inside of the Puzzle. I don't know. The entire concept of having a reason in here is a little…shall we say, a _stupid_ one? Magic may have laws but that doesn't meant it abides by yours."

Yami nodded slightly and didn't comment on the first statement because he was pretty sure he would throw up if he really took it into consideration. "Fair enough," he muttered before straightening fully and looking at him pointedly.

The pharaoh played another card, oblivious, and then slowly drew his gaze up to meet his, eyes widening as he blinked in confusion. "Oh! You were serious then!"

"Yes, but I do have to ask what you meant by the statement that my body is healed. Surely if I still have the wounds here then they are on my physical body too, right?"

"I merely meant your energy. The Puzzle has restored it to what it formerly was. You won't feel fatigued unless you tire yourself out. Even the Puzzle does not have the capability to heal such wounds. Internal, yes, but not external." He paused and frowned, rising to his feet. "That does not apply to the soot you have inhaled, however. Your lungs won't scar and the tissue you tore when you were coughing has healed itself. Past that, there isn't much to be done…"

Yami nodded after a moment. "I didn't expect it to be out of my system yet."

"You'll actually have to listen to the doctors and do as they say."

"No doubt it'll be what will make my cousins breathe down my neck."

"Oh but of course! Why not?"

He rolled his eyes. "You're going to get a kick out of this, aren't you?"

" _Hell_ yes. Since you didn't give me a dramatic reaction as I wanted, I will take comfort in your familial torture."

"Asshole."

"I am so cruel," he agreed, nodding and rolling his eyes with a smirk. "So, so cruel."

Yami gave him a grin and opened his mouth to tell him a simple farewell but was shocked when the Egyptian suddenly leaned forward and rubbed noses with him; his entire body froze and seized in place as if something had just invaded his system and he was being turned into a statue. "What the fuck _are_ you doing?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

Atem smirked widely, chuckling as he looked him over. "Trying to get _that_ reaction out of you," he stated, the curve of his lips growing larger as Yami stepped back once and crossed his arms.

"Not my fault I actually _know_ how it worked in ancient Egypt, jackass," he snapped, bristling slightly before laughing at the way the spirit blinked wide, innocent eyes at him. "I know all _about_ that shit. Incest was okay back then for you guys but it's not happening here. Back off."

The pharaoh merely gave him a wider smirk and shook his head. "That wasn't true of all of us."

"Oh please. I saw the way you were eyeing me," the teen accused playfully. "Like you wanted to jump my bones or something."

Atem gestured to himself. "If I looked at you that way, it was merely because I was thinking about how devastatingly beautiful I am. Just so happens all I really have to do is look at you and it's almost as if I am staring into a mirror."

Yami burst out laughing, eyes shining. "You really know _nothing_ of modesty."

" _Please_. With _this_ body?"

The teen rolled his eyes. "Well this has been one massive mind fuck—"

"But we haven't—"

He covered his mouth immediately, patting his shoulder and shaking his head, whispering, "No, no, no, Atem. We are not about to have this conversation."

The pharaoh stared at him with a confused expression, eyebrows drawing together and Yami could feel his lips twisting, pursing his against his palm, almost pouting but not quite. Yami pulled his hands away and tucked them into his pockets.

"All right. Now how do I get back?"

"You think I'll _tell_ you? I want to watch you squirm a little."

"Fucking asshole!"

Atem burst out laughing and shrugged at him.

* * *

"He tested negative for gold poisoning. They honestly have no idea why he is still asleep," Ryou muttered, surprising the smaller boy who was tracing patterns on the armrest, his burn searing with pain and the Puzzle heating up slightly against his abdomen with each sting.

He looked up, a jerky movement that made the other boy blink, and frowned as he murmured, "How do you know?"

"I actually convinced him to let me shadow in on the operation. Yami is fine, stable…his lungs and liver and everything else is working fine. Of course he's got soot in his respiratory system but he's okay past that. They're discussing doing a surgery to try to drain the liquid they heard in his lungs but it might be too little an amount for such a massive procedure. Past that all they're going to do is tell him what to do to help himself get rid of it when he wakes up."

Yugi nodded slightly and sighed loudly. "That's great," he muttered, both frustrated and positively elated with the news of the other teen's well-being; the Puzzle heated against his stomach again suddenly. "When do they bring him back in here?"

"In a couple of minutes, actually. They were about to put him in the elevator when I left so most likely—oh, well, there they are."

"Yes, here we are," the nurse chimed in, looking happy but disturbed as she wheeled the bed in; Yami was lying flat on his back now and Yugi felt a little sick looking at the new position. For whatever reason it seemed better if he was on his side instead. He guessed it was because Yami slept on his side and not his back aside from that one time on his couch, but past that, it seemed a little disturbing to see him like this. "Another nurse will be here in a couple of hours to check up on him for the night."

Yugi nodded and wasn't nearly as oblivious as she thought to the way that her eyes wandered to the Puzzle around his neck; she was hoping that he wouldn't put it back on him. If he did and they needed to check up on him again in the middle of the night, she wasn't sure that they would be able to do so…

Ryou looked between them for a moment, studying and taking in the way that she was holding her fingers in a manner that made them appear curled halfway, the burn obviously not nearly as nice to her as it had been to Yugi so far. He glanced at the smaller teen, seeing that he was running his fingers over the eye of the Puzzle while his left palm was open and his cheek rested in it. Vaguely he wondered if it hurt but didn't ask, not in the mood for him to possibly bite his head off.

What had he ever done to him?

Ryou couldn't think of anything. He knew that when they had met on his first official day of school, Yugi had thought of him as a threat for sitting with Valon and Alister and had threatened him if he so much as looked at Yami the wrong way, but surely he had proved he wasn't going to do something against the red-eyed teen at the warehouse—oh…

"There's the call button on the wall next to you if you need anything. If he wakes up or has anything go wrong in the middle of the night, don't hesitate to hit it…" she explained, nodding at them once and giving Ryou a tiny smile, the albino granting her the same and watching her go a second later.

"I don't have a thing for Yami," he said immediately when he was sure she was completely gone and wouldn't catch the spat that would surely follow the words that had just left his mouth.

Yugi's face twisted into a murderous snarl, spinning on him and glaring as he breathed harshly through his bared teeth. "Yeah? Then what the fuck was with you touching him so much?" he spat, slamming his hand against the armrest and feeling the pain that laced through his entire arm with a small bite of satisfaction. "He didn't ask you to. I would have heard him if he had."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Grow up," he snorted. "Just because I was trying to help him doesn't mean—"

"Right, so was that you trying to help in the cafeteria too?" he hissed, getting up; the taller teen froze, eyes shooting to his hands where they were beginning to clench into fists. "When you were there _with_ Alister and Ushio?"

"I went to make _sure_ that Yami actually _was_ okay. You really think that I would have let Ushio do that?" the albino asked in disbelief, narrowing his eyes drastically. "You cannot be serious. That makes no sense. I sent Valon out to get you and Malik and Bakura."

Yugi stayed quiet for a moment, glancing at Yami and then spinning back on him. "Funny. It looked more like Yami beat the shit out of you and Alister and got distracted enough that Ushio's little bastard friends could grab him."

"That's crap. I thought Yami was hurt because he had been knocked out before and I stepped in between him and Ushio," Ryou stated angrily, glaring. "Yami got caught because he attacked that kid…whatever the fuck his name is, and then the other two idiots got him. I got knocked out by Ushio after he…"

"After he…?" Yugi prompted coldly.

"He had a switchblade, okay? Hence the stab wound in the arm. Yami went berserk in the middle of it and things just got crazy from there." He shrugged. "All I know is that I woke up to Bakura drawing a dick on my forehead."

He couldn't help it when he snickered. "Yami's cousins are such idiots," he snorted, rolling his eyes.

Ryou stared at him for a moment, wondering why it was that Yugi was no longer at his throat about this, eyes widening as he dropped back into his seat and took up his former position of watching the unconscious teen. For a moment he couldn't figure it out and then slowly he realized just how easy it would be for him to get thrown out of the hospital if he were to do so much as lay a hand on him. All he had to do was call out and they would have their eyes on him immediately.

Yugi was only avoiding a fight to stay with Yami and here he had stupidly been hoping it was because he had explained it to the point that Yugi didn't want to argue with him anymore; he sighed loudly, rolling his eyes and glancing at the clock to see that there was only about an hour left of visitation.

Curse his sympathetic nature…

"Are you hungry? I could go downstairs and get something for you to eat," he offered suddenly, the blue-violet-eyed teen's head snapping up to stare at him for a long minute. "I'm pretty sure Yami wouldn't want the most important person in his life starving himself at his bedside."

Yugi stared at him as if he had just grown another head, narrowing his eyes before snapping, "Well, as long as you realize that _I'm_ the most important person."

Ryou couldn't help but snicker at the statement, holding his hands up immediately when the smaller teen's eyes flashed fiercely; the fact that the other boy was even insecure about that was hilarious. "Of course I do. There's no way to miss that," he stated quickly, fighting off another laugh; this boy was adorable and feisty and just so rude that it was great. He could definitely see how Yami would be attracted to it; it was almost opposite of his personality. Though he had to admit Yugi wasn't bad looking, which definitely helped to work in his favor too. It helped a little with the rude demeanor he put on the times he had encountered him. "Now do you want to get something to eat?"

He debated it for a long minute and the taller boy was almost one hundred percent sure that he would tell him to go fuck himself, but finally Yugi muttered, "Can you see if they have pizza…or chicken or something? Shit, I should have ordered something…"

"How about I order a pizza?"

"Split the bill?"

"Nah, it's on me."

He tapped his nail against the armrest for a minute and then looked at him. "You get the pizza and I'll handle sides?" he offered.

"I don't mind paying."

"Yeah, well, I'm handling the sides. Otherwise I'm going to feel like this is charity and I'll end up spitting on you if you step near me with it."

Ryou burst out laughing and nodded, watching the blue-eyed teen narrow his gaze with a sideways glance at Yami. "What are the toppings you like?"

"Um…onions? Pineapple, I guess…I don't know…Olives?"

"Are you just throwing out the first toppings you think of?"

"Yes. Got a problem with it?"

"No," he snickered. "Plain cheese?"

"So fucking boring," Yugi drawled loudly, stretching the statement out and rolling his eyes.

"Supreme?"

"Fuck no. Too much of that and I'll puke my guts out."

"Veggie?"

"What are you hinting at?"

"Nothing. Um…pepperoni?"

"Ew. I hate ham."

"Damn, then what the hell do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Yami will be _so_ lucky if he can ever take you out for something to eat," he scoffed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "This is too much."

Yugi grinned at him widely for a moment, laughter plain in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm a fucking mess when it comes to ordering food," he snorted, pausing and thinking for a long time. "You want cinnamon sticks and bread rolls? Or breadsticks? Mozzarella sticks?"

Ryou rolled his eyes again. "What are sides if you don't have a main course?"

"Um, dinner?" the smaller teen scoffed. " _Duh_."

"Okay, yeah, cinnamon sticks and bread rolls. Now, how about onion, pepper and olive?"

"I feel like I should claim an allergy for all three of those being on one pizza."

"God, you're difficult."

"Deal with it, snowflake."

Ryou blushed slightly and scowled. "Shut up."

Yugi smirked widely and debated again. "How about pepper and olive and…shit, what else do you put on a pizza like that?"

"We could go half and half? What about half sausage and—?"

"The sausage makes me queasy."

"Oh my god! Are you shitting me right now? I feel like you're just trying to fuck with my head and piss me off with all of this!"

The smaller boy burst out laughing and shook his head. "No, seriously, sausage makes me queasy. Um…and the pepperoni is disgusting. You want to go veggie?"

"Goddamn it, I already suggested that!"

"It sounds better when I ask though so get over it."

Ryou groaned softly, laughing and shaking his head. "Veggie it is. _No_ changing your mind after I start dialing," he announced, grabbing his phone.

"Sure, no arguments. Just add the cinnamon sticks and bread rolls on and I'll pay you when they get here."

He hummed affirmation and turned away, starting to pace the room and place the order while Yugi watched him for a moment and then glanced away again to look at Yami. His laying on his back was really starting to make him feel sick to his stomach; maybe it was because of the position he had found him in at the warehouse or just because that wasn't how Yami slept, but either way it was kind of starting to piss him off.

"Mmhmm. Yes, thank you."

Yugi glanced at him and tilted his head, narrowing his eyes slightly. "What? What's that look for?"

Ryou smirked and shook his head. "I feel like they just assumed I was a fat ass who eats a shit load of junk food," he admitted, snickering. "The way the guy on the phone answered me was kind of weird."

"Skinny people eat shit loads of junk food too," Yugi scoffed, rolling his eyes and gesturing to himself and Yami. "Exhibit A."

"Hmm…"

"Well, at least when you go down there and pay they'll wonder how you're so skinny."

"Wait, I'm going down there to pay?"

"Well no shit, why else am I going to give you money to pay for the sides?"

"I just ordered! Why aren't you going down there to pay?"

"Um, how about because I'm comfortable and I want to be here for Yami if he wakes up?"

"Excuses," Ryou scoffed, grinning slightly in amusement at the response. "You little shit. You're just still pissy about the warehouse thing."

"Yeah, actually, you asshole, I am still pissy about that," Yugi snapped, glaring at him. "Which is exactly why you will be the one going down there to pay for the pizza and then I will give you the money for the sides."

The taller boy rolled his eyes and smirked, shaking his head and sitting back in his seat. "So what are you going to do when Yami wakes up?"

The smaller teen stayed completely quiet for a minute. "I don't know."

"What? You've been here for three and a half days and you don't _know_ what you're going to do when he wakes up?" he asked, all but gawking in disbelief.

Yugi turned his head and stared at him with his eyes narrowed into slits. "No. I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet. Oh my god, so horrible that I just want him to wake up before I plan anything," he snapped. "You and Seto and Bakura and Malik—I swear to the fucking gods, you're all just in my face about this—"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Ryou interjected immediately, eyes widening. "I wasn't trying to pressure you or anything. Shit, I guess I just thought that you had a plan for when he woke up."

"Oh yeah, sorry for not meeting your expectations," he sneered.

The taller teen rolled his eyes with a sigh. "That's not what I meant at all. I understand your point of wanting to just be sure that he's okay before doing anything. I would do the same thing in your place. I guess after the way that Bakura and Malik were talking about you the other day that I just assumed you had a plan."

"Excuse me? Talking about me? What the fuck were they saying?"

Ryou blinked wide eyes and tried to remember how to use his voice and work his jaw, realizing only then just how massive a foot he had stuck in his mouth with that statement. "Shit," he muttered, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Oh goddamn it."

"Well? What have they been saying about me?" Yugi snapped angrily. "What is it that you heard?"

_Oh yeah, nice work there Ryou,_ he thought, covering his face with his palm and shaking his head at himself. _Goddamn it_.

"Nothing bad. I just—"

"No, bullshit. Tell me what the hell they said. I want to know what they've been talking about."

"Oh bloody hell…"

His ears rang with the tapping of Yugi's nail against the armrest, the noise making a violent rhythm that had him cringing in annoyance; the moment he flinched the sound became louder until he had to reach over and push his hand down between them, snapping, "Stop that!"

Yugi snatched his hand away and looked ready to smack him. "Don't touch me. Don't fucking _touch_ me," he spat. "Now tell me what the fuck it is that they've been saying because I'm not about to let them get away with talking shit about me."

"They weren't talking about you like that!" he objected immediately. "Bakura was just saying that Yami should find someone else—someone better—and Malik was laughing at him and saying that Yami would do whatever the fuck he wanted and that you were probably going to be involved in that. That's _all_. Seriously."

The smaller teen narrowed his eyes for a long time. "That's not all of it."

Ryou rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "All right, all right. Bakura said that Yami was an idiot to have anything to do with you. Malik said that his opinion wouldn't do shit to sway Yami. Bakura said he should take that fifty million and leave and never look back as far as you were concerned. Malik said that if he took that fifty million and left, you would be the one that went with him and they would be the ones that he never looked back on. And then Bakura started in on him defending you and Malik said that he wasn't defending you, just that he wasn't so stupid as to think that Yami would want to leave you behind—ever—because he obviously wouldn't have done half the shit he has if he wasn't in love with you."

Yugi nodded for him to keep going, gesturing with his hand in a circular motion.

"Bakura got pissed off some more and said that Yami needed his head checked if he thought you loved him back and Malik argued that you went into the warehouse for him and then Bakura got even _more_ pissed off and then they started fighting." Ryou paused when Yugi tilted his head, looking extremely interested in that statement; the other boy grinned slightly, rolling his eyes. "Malik got Bakura across the eye, busted his nose and lip and Bakura managed to choke him a little before Malik kicked him…in…the family jewels. Past that, I think they just stopped and wandered off their separate ways."

The smaller boy burst out laughing. "Fuck yes, Malik is officially my favorite cousin!" he announced, nodding happily and watching the way that Ryou grinned and shook his head. "Fucking Malik—perfect little bastard!"

"Oh my god," Ryou laughed. "You're easily swayed, aren't you?"

"Fuck you. Hell no. I hate all three of them—haven't interacted with Mokuba yet but I hate him for being taller than me too"—the albino covered his mouth, howling as Yugi scowled at him—"but right now I like Malik just enough that he's ahead of the other two losers."

"That's hilarious."

"Shut up and go pay for our pizza," Yugi snorted, laughing a little and waving him away dismissively; Ryou continued snickering before nodding and getting up. "I'll give you the money for the sides when you get back with the grub."

"Do you even know what a grub is?"

"No, and if you gross me out I'm going to punch you. I am hungry. You don't gross me out before I get something in my stomach. It's not a good thing if you do that."

Ryou snorted, rolling his eyes and wandering out of the room. Yugi watched him go and then leaned forward to look Yami's monitor over; for some reason or other, he had been thinking something would have changed now that the Puzzle was off him, but his body was still as stable as it had been before, not the least bit different. Yugi wasn't sure whether to be relieved or a little disappointed.

Ryou left twenty minutes later when visiting hours were over, taking the leftovers at Yugi's insistence, and the smaller teen was left with Yami who was still lying on his back and irritating the shit out of him despite not being conscious to change it. He fell asleep three hours later, at around twelve in the morning after the night nurse had come in and checked on Yami and he had made the point of moving his chair all the way over to the red-eyed teen's side for the first time his entire stay there.

It had to have been three in the morning or extremely close to then, maybe even a little later, when Yami finally figured out how the hell to get out of the Puzzle. He had spent the entire time trying to get Atem to tell him, realized the bastard wouldn't do it because it would have ruined the entertainment he offered, then spent another half hour trying to figure out a way to wake up. Then he had realized that he didn't have the Puzzle so then he had been forced to figure out how the fuck to even _attempt_ it afterwards and had remembered the traps inside of each of the rooms and so had gone for a pitfall. Somewhere between the initial collapse of the brick floor and Atem gawking at him over the edge while laughing out loud and waving at the same time, he had found himself growing more and more aware, like something was stretching out in front of him and he needed only focus to grasp it fully and understand what it meant.

Now, as his eyes opened, he found himself in a room that was lit only by the doorway, small flickers of white against the tile, the fluorescents of the hallway seeming to try to attempt to further their reach. The room was so dark that for a second, as his eyes scraped around and lingered on the doorway and then the window, he had a moment where he thought that perhaps he was still inside of the Puzzle and had merely fallen until he had landed on another floor and was staring out of an open doorway. But the atmosphere was different and the smell of the area around him spoke of harsh cleaning chemicals that bit at his subconscious and made him blink a few times in amusement. There it was, the thing that made him finally wake up a little more, the sting of air inhaled into his lungs and the sound of the rasping quality that the breath took.

The hospital. He was in the hospital.

He was kind of surprised to find that out, blinking a few times; he had half expected Seto to have him taken out and brought back to his mansion, nursed back to health there. And he had to wonder what the hell had stopped him because it couldn't have been his health that had done it; after all, his cousin had the emergency staff of a five-star hospital, the best surgeons and doctors that money could buy…

He tilted his head, feeling a little unsure of what else to do, trying to test out his limbs and knowing despite it all that he was perfectly fine; it was no different from the Puzzle. He was completely awake and aware and every part of him responded as he knew it would.

Yami turned his head and jumped, eyes widening in shock and his lungs protesting the heavy, quick intakes of breath; holy fucking shit.

Yugi was actually asleep in the chair, cuddled up with a small blanket and a pillow, but that wasn't the thing that shocked him so badly; it was just how _close_ he was to him that made him do a double-take and feel alarmed out of his mind. The pillow was pressed between the bar of his bed and his head, his arms hanging loosely over the back of the pillow and when Yami blinked and breathed again, it took him a long minute to realize what the hell had startled him so badly. His eyes dragged themselves from the sleeping boy's face to slowly rest on the body part that had made him react like this; Yugi was holding his hand and he was squeezing unconsciously in his sleep. Their fingers were completely twined together and when he lifted his hand, the grip he had tightened momentarily before settling again to a loose and comfortable feel.

Yami stared at their hands for a long minute and then turned away, studying his face to make sure that none of his reactions had jerked him awake, and finally forced his attention on the hallway. Some nurses were shuffling by, chatting softly so that they wouldn't wake any of the patients, none of them looking in his room; he supposed, even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to tell he was awake in the first place. He didn't think the light that crept into the room was bright enough or reached far enough to illuminate his face and bring to attention the fact that he was now wide awake.

He felt his stomach twist uneasily and he thought he could hear his heart monitor spiking loudly for a split second, turning his head to stare and exhaling a sigh of relief. He must have missed it those two times he had freaked out, but now it was steady and easy and there was no reason for anyone to come in out of alarm of the sound.

He turned back and Yugi still didn't wake up, something that he supposed he had to thank the gods for, trying to weasel his hand out of his grip and giving up a moment later when every single movement was met with resistance and the tightening of his fingers started to hurt. Gods, this boy was like super glue…

Yami spent a whole minute just staring at him again before sighing and falling back into his pillow, rolling over to face the other side of the room, away from Yugi as confusion and disbelief starting to crash through him. By the gods, his stomach was twisting and his head was starting to hurt…

He snuggled into the pillow for a moment, unhappiness clawing at his insides as he turned his head to glance at Yugi over his shoulder once more; the smaller teen was fast asleep still, not the least bit aware of his being awake or that he was squeezing the life out of his hand.

Vaguely he wondered where his cousins were but didn't care enough to try to wake Yugi to ask, instead rolling onto his back again and sitting up; there had to be a remote around here somewhere, right? He craned his body into a more comfortable position, hissing softly from between his teeth at the pain in his shoulder and side, breathing uncomfortably and realizing only belatedly as he was taking in the remote's shape on the desk that he would have to reach over the smaller boy. And with his right arm.

He debated if it was worth it, fought with himself mentally over it, and then finally gave up again. It wasn't worth it and the end result wouldn't justify the means. Maybe he could fall asleep again…

Yami settled himself comfortably on his left side, fighting off the fact that it was awkward and strange for him, how his muscle memory screamed he roll over and rest on his right, and pulled the sheet up a little further. He drifted somewhere between consciousness and sleep and some kind of completely disconnected state a few minutes later, eyes shut and body completely relaxed.

Sometimes he startled awake, noises that were unfamiliar to him reaching his ears and making him jerk and sit up just enough to check for anything alarming around him, nurses talking and drawing him into a stagger towards awareness, and other times it was just Yugi awkwardly tightening his grip and bringing him into a slightly frantic state.

He settled again, glancing at the clock and trying to figure out what time it was, struggling to work out where the minute and hour hands were in the darkness and then settling for attempting at his internal clock. He had to have been awake for at least an hour because his stomach was starting to grow aware and desperate to alert him to the fact that he was hungry.

He quelled the idea without much effort, snuggling back into the pillow; he was still pretty sure it had been around three when he had woken up so now it must have been four at the least…

He drifted again, mind enveloped by darkness that refused to release him, completely drawn in and smothered by it, and then he jerked awake again. Yugi's fingers slipped out of his, the smaller teen shivering slightly and drawing his hand closer to the bar of metal that rested between his pillow and the bed. Yami watched him for a moment and then drew himself upright as far as he could towards the headboard, watching the smaller boy for any signs that he was waking up, and reached out to grab the remote off the desk.

Yugi's hair would have tickled his stomach if it hadn't been for the stupid hospital gown he was wearing, something that Yami felt a small bit sick about as he reached past him and chewed his lip to keep from making a noise of pain at the feel of his side being stretched like this.

For a moment he thought he was going to knock the remote across the floor but grasped at it eventually, catching the smooth plastic slowly and managing to drag it back towards him. Yugi shifted slightly and he cringed, freezing in place immediately afterwards as the smaller boy let out a soft noise that he recognized as him falling into a slightly deeper sleep. It was a noise he commonly made when they were side by side on the bed, fast asleep, and he was so incredibly thankful for the small sound that it made his heart hurt for a second.

He snatched the remote and flung himself back into the mattress, biting back a groan at the pain in his side and shoulder, ignoring it in favor of fumbling with the power button and looking for the mute. His finger unconsciously pressed against the volume button, turning it up louder, and Yami startled, dropping the remote and gawking at the noise that the screen produced. His heart skipped and rattled in his chest, the alarm on his monitor going off, and he panicked even more at the aspect of waking Yugi at the moment.

Scrambling, he caught and snatched the remote again, flipping it over to stare at it in the screen's illumination, immediately smacking the mute button and trembling once as the adrenaline started to fade from his system. Fucking Ra, the gods had to hate him…

He feigned sleep as the nurse's started running every which way to see who's television and monitor had gone off and he watched a few of them gather around, whispering to each other in confusion. One of them gestured towards his room but no one stepped inside, the other three shaking their heads and whispering something else.

The red-eyed teen was just glad his heart had settled or he thought he would vomit.

For twenty minutes he feigned sleep, pretending that he was dreaming and that nothing was wrong in his room, that he and the other boy were in the same state of awareness, and then finally flipped over onto his back again. He grabbed the remote and jammed his finger on the volume button, turning it down until the meter said zero, and started changing the channels immediately.

He watched the pictures and read the subtitles, not completely preoccupied with the task, but it took enough energy that he didn't find himself staring out the door into the hall looking for any nightly nurses heading in there. He wasn't up for questions yet, not for tests or commentary…

He flipped the channel and stared blankly for a moment. The two male lions onscreen were fucking, he realized belatedly, so caught up in his thoughts that he had almost missed it.

His lips twisted up into a wry grin and a laugh bubbled up as he remembered his father's little campaign mascot. His campaign against gays…with an animal that had homosexual tendencies.

He fought back a loud purr, instead glancing at Yugi as a reminder not to make too much noise, smiling a little more naturally at the way that the other boy remained completely asleep, and turned back to the screen. He watched through the documentary and found himself far more alert when the wolves came on the screen before his stomach sank and his heart skipped a beat in alarm at the sudden appearance of the orangutans. Oh fucking gods…

He scrambled to change the channel, eyes wide and nearly bugging out of his skull, adrenaline crashing through him again as he struggled to remember how to press the button. Oh fucking hell, he didn't want to relive his experience at the zoo, the very thought making him shudder as his finger finally jammed the right button.

Ra, why? Why that day of _all_ days? It just had to be _that_ day.

Stupid female orangutan. Couldn't she have done… _that_ some _other_ day—preferably when he wasn't there?

He dropped the remote into his lap and shook his head, glancing at Yugi for a moment and feeling the impulse to thread his fingers through his hair. He supposed it was a good thing that the smaller boy had probably not been sleeping well recently because at least now he wasn't wide awake after his little volume mistake twice made.

The red-eyed teen turned away and grabbed the remote again, not in the mood to have some myths busted, instead flipping through and growling softly; what the fuck was with documentaries on orangutans? Were they all so bored that they—oh, right, he had just gone the wrong way with the remote.

He hurried to continue flipping, but the memory was already resurfacing and he could feel the heat coming across his cheeks and his eyes growing wide in panic and his monitor beeped a little loudly…

Yami smacked the heel of his palm against his forehead a few times, annoyed out of his mind when it didn't fade immediately, and then went back to hurriedly clicking away; he was just going to have to start avoiding any and everything to do with animals. Just screw animals. Screw them altogether. They didn't exist anymore as far as he was—oh, that puppy was just so damn _cute_!

Okay, so maybe canines and felines existed. The rest? No, not so…okay, and horses. Screw the rest—goddamn it. They had a slideshow of adorable little baby animals and they were so trying to fuck with his head, weren't they?

His stomach growled again, a low gurgle that made him sigh in annoyance, glancing at his abdomen and going completely still, confusion and alarm passing through him suddenly. Fuck, where was the Puzzle?

He forced himself to relax some, scrambling to check under the sheets and his pillow, the back of the bed and eventually the desk. Oh gods, he had lost it—someone had stolen it or he'd lost it and he didn't understand how that could have happened…

A small sliver of light hit the chain and sparked in his eye, making him wince as he took it in and found himself gawking in alarm; Yugi…Yugi was wearing the Puzzle…

Oh gods, he was going to be sick.

Yugi was wearing the Puzzle and he shouldn't have been and it was making his head spin and if he didn't get out of bed and go to the bathroom and vomit it would be a fucking miracle…

He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his panic off and clenching his jaw; it would be fine. Yugi would be fine. He would have to be fine. The Puzzle wouldn't hurt him and he would be perfectly fine. Obviously it wouldn't hurt him if he had managed to get it off him in the first place. No, he was perfectly fine and there was no reason for him to panic anymore.

Yami opened his eyes only when he was sure he was facing the TV again, undoing his jaw and feeling the muscles strain with the effort, the bones seeming to pop loudly in his ears for a second. He wrinkled his nose to try to release some of the tension that was building up in his throat, the movement in vain, and went about flipping the channel again before freezing in place.

His father was on the screen. It was for a split second as a commercial shot up immediately as if beckoned by his scattered mind, but it was enough to make him narrow his eyes in annoyance. What did he have to say? Did anyone know about the warehouse ordeal yet? He supposed they did know since Bakura had reported it and the ambulance had come to pick him up there. But how much they knew—how he got there, how many were involved, how it started, whether the bodies were found—was still something that he would have to deal with later.

He wondered if they had been incinerated completely in that blaze or if they had come out as burned skeletons. Was there proof that he had done this by choice? He supposed there was…there were the strike-anywhere matches in his pockets after he had fainted, after all. He found himself more worried about his father blabbering about it than if there was any actual evidence that it was arson. If his father opened his mouth about it, he was screwed.

Which also begged the question of what the fuck had happened with that fifty million. He didn't suppose that he had gotten back out to Egypt with it. He would have had to cash it when he had first landed in Japan, gotten a duffel bag or a suitcase with it, had it waiting somewhere because he certainly hadn't had it when he was going after him, and trying to return the money would have cost a pretty penny that he wouldn't have spared.

So it could have still been in Japan…

Maybe his cousin had it…

He watched him get up on screen again, the red-eyed teen not bothering to read the answer, but narrowing his gaze at the way that his father continued to hold himself. As always, his back was rigidly straight to the point that it looked painful, his head was higher than everyone else's nearby as if in challenge, and his eyes were just as dark as always, mentally judging with that usual show of merely paying attention. As always…he looked as if he was not troubled by anything, as if the world was his oyster and everyone in it were but mere necessities for his existence.

Yami watched the screen with cold eyes, clenching his jaw and shaking his head; that stupid fucking bastard. But _of course_ he got to pretend that nothing happened in the first place. He scanned for his name, really trying to find it among some of the questions, but never once was it mentioned, and neither was his mother, curiously enough.

That was fine though.

He didn't want to be mentioned by the gray-eyed fucker, but still, he had to admit that it seemed a little strange a dynamic for an interview with him. With everything that had happened as far as the videos went and the pictures of him and Yugi at that protest, how the fuck had they neglected to mention him?

Maybe it had been a term for him to do the interview, but that made no sense; his father was a glory hound. He would probably lick a dead dog if it got him on television…

He knew nothing of moderation or modesty, always wanted his face everywhere, wanted the attention of everyone, needed them all eating out the palm of his hand and licking his wounds when he got hurt.

The next two hours passed with some responses to his "homosexual affair" with Yugi, his eyes widening and skin paling drastically as his heat clenched and his stomach dropped, looking at the picture of the two of them fucking in his bed…

Ra, when was this going to blow over?

He flipped the channel with a roll of his eyes, irritation clawing at him as he shook his head and completely missed it when Yugi suddenly shifted in his sleep and then tipped his head to face him over the bar of the bed, those bright eyes dark with shadows but shining with luminescence from the TV as they slowly opened into slits and then drew themselves to a fuller degree. He tipped his head so that his chin rested on the pillow, the bar hard beneath it as he pulled away from the soft cushion and stared at him in disbelief and growing shock.

Yami stared at the screen for a few minutes, eyes growing troubled and lips pursing slightly to the side, occasionally wrinkling his nose as he flipped through the channels. And because he was so completely oblivious to him, Yugi sat back slowly, drawing his feet onto the chair silently while he kept the pillow in place with his hands, and leaped at him. Yami's head snapped towards him in shock just as he wrapped his hands around his neck and threw himself onto the bed to straddle him, eyes blazing viciously into his.

"…Good morning?" Yami muttered, blinking as Yugi squeezed once and then pulled his hands away just as fast, hissing at him in annoyance, "How long have you been awake, damn it?"

Yami glanced around for the clock, squinting and still finding himself unable to read the hands for the time, and even checked the TV's guide before shrugging. "Has to be six already, maybe?" he muttered when he found the print too small to read and his eyes rather sore from the attempt. "I watched a couple of documentaries on animals and a couple of television episodes? So I mean…about two hours for the animals, one for the episodes. Four hours…but I've been awake before that so I guess six? Yeah, six."

Yugi could have strangled him. "Why the _fuck_ didn't you wake me?"

Yami blinked at him, distracted by the sensation of the very tip of his Puzzle pressing into his bellybutton, ice cold through the material of the hospital gown he was forced to wear. "Why is that around your neck?"

"Because the doctors thought you had gold poisoning because one of them was convinced that it had burned its way into your neck so I took it off and I don't suppose you want it to get stolen—I mean, it _is_ real fucking gold—so yeah, there you go," he snapped, reaching a hand up and lightly slapping his cheek, a gentle tap of his fingers and palm against his face. "Answer the question."

"I…um…?"

Why hadn't he woken him up?

Because he was selfish and wanted to think about what he was going to do because something had honestly occurred to him while he was in the Puzzle and he hadn't wanted to have to face Yugi so soon.

"You looked…tired…?"

Yugi smiled and shook his head, laughing a second later when he blinked and squinted, looking comically confused after a moment, gaze darting around suddenly as if he were looking for something to draw into a nice lie worthy of the smaller boy's attention. And then slowly his cheeks were starting to take on a pink hue and Yugi couldn't help the massive grin that claimed his lips.

"You didn't think about it, did you?"

Yami bit his lip to keep from saying that he had honestly thought about it so much that his head was hurting. In retrospect, it was horrible of him to have not woken him because it was obvious that he had been waiting for him to do so, but he hadn't been able to face him then and he wasn't even sure if he could face him now…

He shook his head slowly as if a little embarrassed and Yugi pressed his palm into his forehead, pushing him back into his pillow before glancing at his legs; the taller teen twisted to his left, his right side aching softly, and then gestured vaguely to give him permission after realizing what he was looking at. Yugi happily sat back against his bent legs, moving his hands to rest beside his torso and lightly pressing his thumbs into his flanks, careful to avoid the gunshot wound.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm okay…" He searched his face for a moment, at first not really thinking much of the question, and then smiled softly at him when the smaller teen narrowed his eyes slightly in distrust of the statement. "I mean, nothing really hurts. And I am wide awake so…Whatever, I guess. How long have I been here?"

"Three days asleep."

"…Oh. What's today then?"

"Wednesday."

He relaxed slightly and blinked, nodding once. "Oh, okay. That's not a bad day. I was thinking you would say something like Sunday or Monday or Tuesday or Thursday."

"…Wait, what the fuck is wrong with _Thursday_?"

"Ooh, look who's crass today."

Yugi rolled his eyes and poked him beneath the rib, making a small noise akin a giggle and gasp bubble out of his mouth before both of them stared in surprise and he burst out laughing, covering his mouth while Yami wrinkled his nose and turned away.

"Kill me now."

"Aw, but it was a _cute_ noise."

"Fucking Ra, did you just read my mind or something?"

"Huh?"

Yami opened and closed his mouth once before quickly shaking his head. "Nothing," he muttered, blinking as he realized just how ridiculous a statement that really was; so he just enunciated the same word as he had when he saw the puppy on the screen. That hardly meant anything. Besides, Yugi was just teasing him as he normally would have. There was nothing wrong with it in all actuality. "Did I mention I just woke up?"

"Yeah, like fucking six hours ago."

"It's a law that you don't wake up immediately after sleeping for three days. Six hours is nothing when it comes to waking up."

Yugi rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and then looked him over for a moment, reaching a hand out to stroke over his temple and down to cup his cheek before running the back of his nails up into his hair. Yami purred softly, half expecting Yugi to tease him and finding himself frozen when he saw the strange look on his face, his left hand reaching out to mirror his right's movements, appearing almost ready to cry.

"I…Ha…you…you're really okay…"

Yami frowned at the sorrow and confusion and pure joy in those simple words. "Yugi…?"

"Shut up for a second."

The taller teen smirked at the command, amused to no end by the frustration that coated his words and feeling some of the tension in the air relieved by the comical response despite the seriousness of it all. Yugi's eyes were hooded with amusement and his lips had quirked up into a soft smile, but the look on his face did not change completely; that gleam in his eyes that Yami could only describe as pure awe and confusion and sorrow did not leave even slightly.

Yami had the impulse to open his mouth and speak but stopped when he saw the way that Yugi was still watching him. The look on his face was making his skin crawl and a million different thoughts jumped out at him as if something was trying to sear into his brain, wondering vaguely if Yugi was looking for an argument with him. He didn't mean to, but he found himself recoiling with the thought, his legs flattening and Yugi flinching in surprise at the response, confusion and hurt sweeping over his features after a moment.

Had he scared him?

Or hurt him?

Yugi's stomach twisted uneasily at the silence for a moment before an idea slowly dawned on him, eyes widening and voice coming out weak and hurt. "Yami, I haven't been here waiting for you to wake up just so that we could fuck…"

Yami blinked in confusion and the smaller teen stiffened in alarm when he realized that his assumption was not at all right. "Now, that's an idea," he muttered under his breath, Yugi's eyes widening drastically and making him blink in shock as the other boy shook his head. "No, I thought…"

He stared at him blankly for a few moments and then slowly began to piece it together in his head, frowning when he realized that Yami couldn't get the words out so he would need to do it himself. "I'm not here for that either," he murmured, swallowing hard and chewing his cheek. "I…No, Yami."

He shouldn't have but the relieved breath left his mouth before he could think about it, the fear coiling out of him and his body beginning to feel a little better as opposed to the heavy dead weight it had been moments before. "Okay."

"Does the possibility of it scare you that much?"

Yami winced and stayed silence, the quiet feeding Yugi the answer he craved.

"I…Yami, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that…"

He shook his head lazily, closing his eyes. "No, no, it's fine," he cut in quietly, breathing out a small sigh. "I mean, I guess I was kind of expecting it for a while. A long while, actually…but damn, I just…it would have been really shitty if you had decided to do it now of all times…"

Yugi laughed softly, shaking his head. "Even I'm not that cruel."

"No?" The smaller teen narrowed his eyes slightly, about to snap at him before he realized he had a right to question that with the way that they had treated each other. "No, I guess not."

The red eyes opened fully and regarded him with such a cautiously curious gleam that Yugi nearly missed the slight warmth that lingered there as well. "But you have _something_ you want to say, do you not?" he coaxed softly, preparing himself just in case Yugi had just been trying to ease him into some kind of false security.

"I…" The smaller boy thought about it for a long time, searching his eyes and dragging his gaze along the line of his jaw in order to try to attempt some kind of calm; how should he say it? Was it meant to be just those three words or something more? He drew in a thoughtful breath, puffing his cheeks out and making a soft popping noise as he struggled to find the words. "I…Yami, I…"

Why couldn't he just get it out already?

He wasn't afraid of actually _saying_ it.

So then what the hell was…?

The more he stared at him, the more it became far too clear to him just how dangerously aware he was of Yami's silence, of the way that his patience was really starting to kill him on the inside. Yami's reaction to the news was what held him back now…

His stomach flipped violently. Gods, when did this get to be so fucking _hard_?

Maybe rehearsing it wouldn't have been such a bad idea. He figured there was a bathroom somewhere—ha, there was one in the room—where he could stare into the mirror and just repeat the words until his throat was too sore to even function and—

"I love you."

The words were expelled so quickly, in such a rush that both of them blinked and then furrowed their brows, sorting it out while Yami stared at him as if he had been slapped and Yugi tried to figure out if he had put the right word in the middle…

"Don't do this right now, Yugi," the red-eyed teen pleaded, sounding broken and tired with the noise as opposed to the happiness that Yugi had honestly been anticipating.

"What?"

"Not right now. I don't…I can't take this right now. I'm too tired."

Yugi shook his head slowly. "But I—"

"Damn it, Yugi, I can't do this right now," he snapped, bristling suddenly and looking horrified and more than a little hollow, like something had just collapsed to pieces inside of him and he was dying.

"Yami, I swear—"

"Don't do this."

"Listen—"

"No. Just stop."

" _You_ stop," Yugi spat viciously, annoyed and startled out of his mind to the point that he had no idea what he was supposed to do past try to talk some sense into the other boy, more than a little worried about what "sense" he had to offer him in the first place. "Listen to me, damn it."

"Why? So that you can quell your fears through telling me this? I can't handle this right now. I don't want to be used like this anymore, Yugi. That hasn't changed. I don't…I can't…I…" He trailed off after a moment, the words too thick in his lungs to be expelled, shaking his head as his eyes settled on the Puzzle; it wasn't shining or responding to him in any way but it still made his chest feel as if it might cave in just being so close to them. Atem and soul catchers and the Puzzle… "Look, I don't…I don't want to do this right now. I really don't. I don't want to be tossed aside or around and I'm so tired. I don't want to…"

Yugi was silent for a long moment and then chewed his cheek with a shake of his head; Yami wasn't about to give ground, not a single inch. In fact, he would probably go for the throat at any moment if he got the chance, take that single inch that Yugi needed and push him so far back that he would have no room to figure out which way he was supposed to go again.

But, as he watched him, he didn't think it was him that Yami was really worried about; something seemed disconnected and jaded in his eyes, like maybe he was bleeding on the inside and couldn't find the words to explain or even the strength to deal with it just yet, especially not with him there. The wild desperation in his eyes for him to drop the subject had Yugi's heat twisting in his chest, wondering if he wanted him there or not in the first place but the answer was easily given when the other teen seemed to unconsciously reach out and twine one of their hands together. The expression on his face looked pained and confused and the smaller teen watched him as he squeezed once, really looking at their hands and seeming to almost inspect them so closely that at some point he appeared as if he had forgotten that he was staring at their hands in the first place.

"Okay…"

Yami blinked and dragged his eyes to his, searching his face for a moment and offering a shaky smile; Yugi narrowed his gaze faintly at the raspy quality of the taller teen's breath and tilted his head, listening to it for a moment.

"Out of curiosity…"

"Hmm?"

"You're scared of me turning away from you and saying I'm tired of being your fuck buddy, but then you don't want to be used anymore, so how does that…work exactly?"

"Fuck if I know."

Yugi stared at him for a moment, searching his face and rolling his eyes when he went from thinking that Yami's mind was too confusing for him half the time to realizing exactly what it was. In some kind of lopsided, curious way, his desperation not be pushed away and draw his own lines made complete sense. Yami couldn't take being used, but he could offer himself to _be_ used by his own choice. In some kind of abstract way, Yugi guessed that was how their relationship had _always_ worked. Yami didn't roll over constantly for him when he went to him, more willing to fight with him before he settled for anything, a clear warning that he was letting it happen and willingly giving a distraction and that Yugi did not have complete control over the entire situation. When Yami had come to him, he wasn't pushy about it until it was brought up and then he offered flat out to do it.

Yami honestly had more control over the entire situation than Yugi ever did, got the security of saying that he would be ready for it when the smaller teen turned away completely. He was able to say that he let it happen rather than he was being used without consent. He got the right to say he was stronger than him despite how weak he actually felt beneath it all.

He had to feel weak or else he wouldn't be so terrified and worried out of his mind like this, right?

"Hmm…" he hummed noncommittally and drummed his free hand's fingers over his thigh. He didn't really appreciate being deterred from his first show of _truly_ saying he loved him, but then again, he himself had dismissed him at first as well, saying he was just drunk and then getting smacked with a pillow by an angry Yami who was very obviously offended by his statement.

"I'm just a little buzzed."

Yami's eyes stretched wide for a second, tilting his head as if Yugi had just spoken Arabic and said that he wanted him, so at attention that it made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He hadn't meant to say it out loud but either way, it was somewhat easier to have put it out there like this.

Yami let his lips twist up into a slightly smirk and Yugi blinked before yelping in surprise when he grabbed him by the ribs and tossed him onto the mattress at his side, ignoring him in favor of the screen. "I want to watch the wolves."

The other teen narrowed his eyes but smiled all the same, shaking his head and rolling his eyes before looking at the TV for a moment. No wolves. Asshole.

"Hey, have you ever been to the zoo?"

Yami's head snapped towards him, glaring at the Puzzle with his lip curled back and eyes narrowed into slits. "It is that damn thing around your neck? Is that what's going on right now?" he hissed.

" _Huh_?"

He clamped his jaw shut before he could make himself seem like even more of a mental case, scrubbing his face with his hands as if exhausted for a moment. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Okay…so, well…have you?"

"…When I was eight."

"Okay, why did you just say that like something crawled up your ass and started fingering your prostate?" Yugi murmured, narrowing his eyes.

"Yugi, how the fuck would it finger my prostate if it _crawled_ up there?"

"Oh fucking"—the smaller boy covered his face with his hands, shaking his head a few times and sighing loudly—"Okay, let me rephrase. Why do you say that like it disgusts you?"

Yami waited for a moment, trying to gather something of a handful of words to say to make him drop the subject, but failed miserably almost immediately, instead making a sobbing noise purely for sympathetic appeal and watching him closely. Yugi's face brightened with a wicked grin, shaking his head and raising his eyebrow as his eyes shown with the demand of an answer.

"Fuck you," he snapped. "I'm not even—fuck!"

His grin grew wider. "Not even what, Yami?"

"Kill. Me. Now."

"No way. I just got you back. Now tell me."

Yami ignored the implication and leveled him with a long glare before feeling his lips twitch and pull themselves into a grimace, frowning and chewing his cheek. "I know for a fact that you won't keep this, but promise you won't laugh?"

Yugi held up a finger, drew in a long breath, and then burst out laughing until he went red in the face while the other teen stared at him with a shocked look and tilted his head in confusion. He went five minutes before holding his hand up again and sighing with a small nod. "I'm all laughed out."

Yami rolled his eyes, smiling at his efforts and shaking his head while the smaller boy watched him closely. "…I was eight. It was my first ever visit to the zoo. And it was ruined. Horribly."

"Why? Did your dad—?" Yugi started, voice taking on a sharp note.

"No. No—and he's not my dad." He snorted in dismissal but didn't miss the way that Yugi gave him an encouraging nod, agreeing one hundred percent. "I…Fucking orangutan."

"You…fucked an orangutan?" the other boy repeated, blinking and then recoiling until he nearly hit his head against Yami's monitor right next to him. "Fucking—Yami, I swear to the gods—"

Yami gave him a disgusted look and clamped his hand over his mouth, rolling his eyes dramatically. "No! You think I could have gotten away with that shit? And that's fucking disgusting, by the way, so if you have any animal fetishes you should tell me now so that I don't even _think_ about coming near you again. That's inhumane! Although…admittedly, that might have been far more fun despite the fact that I would never be able to face myself again after that. "

Yugi pulled his hand off his mouth, snickering, "Come _on_ , Yami."

"Fine, _fine_. It was a _female_ orangutan and she was doing one of those things only _females_ can do."

"Breastfeeding!" he guessed.

Yami blinked and curled his lip. " _Ew_."

Yugi laughed at the indignant wrinkle of his nose but threw his hands up, shrugging.

"Another thing."

"Um…She bled all over?"

The other teen chuckled in amusement and shook his head. "Ha, that's a nice way of putting it. No."

"…Did she give a guy a fucking blowjob? Was she pimped out? Maybe she was part of a train? Crap, Yami, give me a _clue_! Animals do all kinds of crazy things with sex acts and that's all I can think about when it comes to something being traumatizing!"

"…You're in the right direction…?"

He rolled his eyes, thinking it over. "Okay, did _she_ try to fuck a male orangutan or another female? Cause I could see how chaotic that would be for an eight-year-old."

"No. It comes _after_ all of that."

He thought about it for a long moment and then shook his head slowly, his lips twisting up into a wide smirk that made his eyes mischievous. "No. No way."

He nodded a little.

"You got to watch a female orangutan touching herself when you were only eight?" he breathed, looking awed. "You little player you!"

Yami glowered at his joke. "No."

"Then what the hell did you see? God, I don't like this game. You don't play it right!"

"You're…blaming this on _me_? Please, any miscommunication between us is all on your behalf," he scoffed. "You're the one who doesn't want to talk."

Yugi shook his head, snickering. "All _your_ fault. Now tell me."

He stayed quiet for a moment. "You told me you were all laughed out before but you _lied_ to me," he accused.

"Aw, who's a little baby? Yami is!" Yugi cooed, reaching over and pinching his cheek so that Yami glowered and narrowed his eyes into slits, growling softly while the smaller boy continued laughing. "Come on, tell me!"

"…Yami is a little baby."

He blinked and then shook his head. "Huh?"

"Oh…you weren't…? I thought…Oh…"

"Oh my god! What do they put in that thing?" he demanded, grabbing the IV drip and looking it over. "Shit, you think you could pull off being me for a few days?"

Yami chuckled and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "I could totally do it."

"Hmm, you think so?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and narrowing his eyes with a small smirk of amusement. "Do you really now?"

"I do."

"Well then, you should probably tell me about this trip to the zoo eight years ago so that I'll have my stories straight when your cousins visit and ask why you've shrunk."

Yami burst out laughing and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "You are _so_ full of shit, aren't you?"

"…Is the shit this story? Because I'm not full of it yet."

"I hate you."

"That's half of our relationship," Yugi scoffed before rolling his eyes. "But mostly you just _love_ me."

Yami blinked at the way that his voice lilted with the slightest twinge of desperation that coated his words like slowly-dripping honey. Yugi froze in place for a second, as if expecting him to object, looking rattled as if it meant the world to him for him to agree in that single second.

The taller teen nodded after a moment, blinking, ignoring his stutter when he weakly breathed, "Uh…b-back to the story?"

He thought for a moment, trying to find a reasonable clue that wouldn't give it all away and then settled for a vague one. "I am completely scarred for life."

"Scarred for life. Okay, well there aren't that many things that can scar a guy for life," he muttered, tipping his head to the side. "Something only girls can do. Comes after sex—are you sure she wasn't fingering herself? Cause I witnessed Tea's cat jerking himself off with his paw and rubbing his—"

"Dear fucking—Yugi!"

He held his hands up, laughing sheepishly but getting far more amusement out of the situation than he would ever really admit. "Okay, okay, I'll stop with—okay, so there's really only _one_ other thing that girls can do that guys can't," he murmured, breathing out a soft sigh and raising an eyebrow in question so that Yami nodded at him to continue. "She…gave birth?"

He nodded eagerly.

Yugi tried really hard. Even Yami saw this. First his bottom lip was drawn into his mouth and then his top and then both and then his jaw started trembling and his eyes watered, and then he just exploded. His laughter was everywhere, echoing off the walls while Yami hurried to grab his pillow and hand it to him to press it into his mouth; the smaller teen took it and guffawed into it, holding it completely against his face as he rolled on the bed and tried to stifle the laughter that was rapidly becoming louder, tears streaming from his eyes.

"All laughed out my _ass_ ," Yami commented dryly, rolling his eyes.

Yugi's eyes flooded further with tears, crying hard into the pillow and kicking his legs against the wall behind Yami's head, pushing himself a little further away from him and shaking his head. He gawked when the smaller teen threw the pillow at him and then fled into the bathroom, chuckling when he heard him start peeing.

He came back ten minutes later, Yami marking the time in curiosity as he slunk back into the room like an abused dog, head down and hand covering his mouth. He rolled his eyes; two minutes peeing, eight minutes just laughing until he finally crawled back out again like that. The smaller teen kept his head down as he took a seat next to him, refusing to look at him, shoulders shaking and small snickers escaping his mouth again.

"It was _that_ funny?" Yami snorted skeptically.

"I think she _really_ scarred you for life, bud," Yugi snorted, shaking his head again.

He took a second and then rolled his eyes, laughing and shaking his head in response. "Oh my Ra. Yes, it was just always that damn orangutan," he chuckled.

Yugi nodded and scooted over to his side, sighing and leaning into him, allowing him time to pull his arm over him so that the IV drip rested over his stomach rather than beneath him where he would have clotted the flow and the nurses would have come running to check on them.

"Squealing about bugs and giving birth. That is _quite_ the list of issues to have against girls, Yami."

He flipped him off with a scoff, rolling his eyes and settling back further into the pillow while Yugi watched him with a wide smirk. "I was _eight_!" he whined. "She could have picked _any_ other fucking day to give birth!"

The smaller boy nearly fell over himself laughing. "You _cannot_ be serious!"

"I am _dead_ serious," he snapped. "She _scarred_ me."

"And now you hide away from pussy. That's just…amazing, Yami."

"Hey, I f…" He fell silent immediately, clearing his throat awkwardly and turning away with his head down, guiltily drumming his fingers over his stomach for a moment. Yugi stared at him confusion for a moment and then flinched. Mai. Yami had fucked Mai. He still wondered how long ago that was.

"…Was that while we were…?"

"…The day after I spent the night. I…I remembered you telling me that maybe I should experiment because maybe Tea just didn't do it for me," Yami admitted, head still bowed as he looked his hand over as if it were the most important thing in the world.

"Oh," he muttered, nodding slowly and blinking.

"Are…are you mad?"

"Mad?" Yugi repeated, blinking again as Yami turned his head slightly and peered at him from beneath his lashes, looking miserable. "No, I'm not mad, Yami."

"Okay…then what is that?"

"What is what?"

"That," Yami stressed, eyes widening as he raised his head slightly and peered at him with a slightly desperate expression. "In your voice. What is it?"

The smaller boy tipped his head and then turned towards him completely, resting his chin against his shoulder and narrowing his eyes into slits as the other boy blinked and then turned away immediately again.

"I didn't do it because of…I…I didn't do it to…I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"I know that. It just…it doesn't make it any easier though."

"…I'm sorry…"

"It's in the past. It doesn't matter. Besides, I was the one who gave you the idea anyways."

Yami didn't answer him but that was okay because Yugi wasn't sure he had a response to anything he would have said. Better he finished the conversation than have it dragged through the mud.

He didn't think he dreamed, just fell into some kind of blackness that was half-aware and easily escaped when the taller teen started moving next to him; at first he didn't know what the hell was going on and then he realized belatedly that the red-eyed boy was starting to maneuver himself to crawl over him.

"Whoa, whoa, where are you going?" Yugi demanded immediately as he took in the situation and saw that the taller boy was only partially awake as well; the blue-violet-eyed teen narrowed his eyes and pressed his arm across his stomach to completely stop him from getting up into a sitting position.

"The bathroom…?"

"Yami," he laughed after a moment, "you have a _catheter_ in."

"I…what?" Yami demanded with wide eyes, pulling the sheet up and peering underneath before gawking. "Oh my god. There's a tube up my penis."

Yugi burst out laughing, covering his face with his hands and shaking his head. "Oh, I thought you already knew and now I can't…" he snickered, the other teen turning his head and opening and closing his mouth before pulling the sheet down again with an unhappy expression. "H-hey, if helps, I was the one who did it?"

Yami turned his head and stared at him as if he had just spoken in the most demonic voice he had ever heard, entire face completely mortified. "Y-you?"

"Hey, I've had him in my mouth before, why not stick a tube in?"

"I…I…I think I just died on the inside. Like…everything. It just curled in on itself and it's all hollow inside and I just…Oh my god."

Yugi burst out laughing and shook his head, falling back into the spot he had fallen asleep at his side a few hours after their conversation about Mai. "Oh please, you know that I wouldn't be allowed to do that." The smaller teen closed his eyes for a moment before snuggling a little into his side, curling into him and moving to bring his right knee against the taller teen's right hip; Yami looked at him in surprise for a moment, more than a little startled to find that he was staring back at him before turning away again putting his ear to his chest. The sound of his heartbeat made him shiver once before mumbling, "You really didn't feel it?"

"I think I was either so oblivious to the fact that they would even _give_ me one after surgery or just so completely distracted by the pain in my side and shoulder to notice," he admitted, once again pulling the sheet up and staring at it with wide eyes for a second; he could see the little clear tube. He put it back down again and awkwardly fiddled with his fingers. He was so not about to pee into this thing. He still had his dignity and he was not about to do it.

Yugi raised his brow after a moment. "What? What's that face for?"

"I have a tube…up my penis," Yami muttered, blinking and looking at him with an indignant expression. "A tube! Up my penis!"

He bit his lip to keep from laughing. "So? It happens when you've been out for days."

"Oh my god. Someone saw my penis and decided that they would stick a fucking _tube_ up it, Yugi. I don't think you understand."

"I do," he argued, biting back some more laughter. "Grandpa had one a couple of years back."

"I would rather wear a fucking diaper," he snapped, sulking. "I can't even feel it. What if I like…walk out the fucking hospital with it still _in_? Or get kidney failure or something? Do you think this goddamned thing is clean enough to be _up_ my penis?"

"I'm sure it is," he snorted, squeezing his eyes shut for a second before looking at the scowl Yami sported. "I mean, they can't use it if it isn't properly cleaned and—"

"You are not a doctor," he snapped, making the other teen snicker. "I will not take statistics about catheters from the likes of you."

He snickered and pressed a finger into Yami's rib, causing him to let out a small squeak of a noise before glaring indignantly. "Well, are you going to pee or not?"

"You hate me," the taller teen hissed. "You want me to pee into a pouch. I will not give you that satisfaction."

"You know, I've heard of people dying from not being able to take a piss."

Yami stared at him for a moment and then lifted the sheet again to look at the tube before lowering it again. "I think I can live a little longer without that piss, thank you very much."

"Well, hey, from what I've heard, when you get it taken out, they pretty much give you a handjob—"

"I fucking hate you."

Yugi dissolved into laughter and Yami rolled his eyes, sulking with his arms crossed.

* * *

"Shit," Yugi muttered as he looked the email over, chewing his cheek as Yami chatted with the nurse about something or other; he eyed him from beneath his lashes, pretty sure he was missing one of the most entertaining arguments of his life. The nurse had come in thinking that Yami was unable to pee only to be told that Yami refused to do it instead of having the inability to do so. He was pretty sure she was snapping at him about how he needed to pee or he might damage an organ and he was more than a little sure that Yami was getting nasty about it by now.

Yugi felt blood coat his tongue before he actually tasted it, blinking as he realized how badly he had bitten into his flesh; for a moment he debated diverting the conversation but stopped immediately and looked at the email again, still watching Yami from the corner of his eye. Tristan had texted him earlier to make sure he read the email he sent because he was pretty sure he wasn't going to get another chance to send the information again.

He had missed nine days straight and the school policy—unknown to him—was that ten days meant the removal of the student permanently. They would be expelled without so much as a blink and would not be allowed back in no matter the begging.

So he either showed up or he got expelled.

But Yami was getting out soon and he wanted to help him…

He was pretty sure if he told him about it and tried to stay, Yami would chew his head off and spit his blood on him afterwards. He wouldn't let him get expelled just to help him, no matter how much Yugi attempted to argue it out with him.

Well, he still had four days with him until he had to go back thanks to the two teacher work days that were happening; at least that way he could have fun with the red-eyed teen until then.

* * *

Yugi fiddled with Yami's phone for a moment, studying his face as the other teen continued watching the program on the TV, squinting and looking rather unhappy despite the additional drugs they had given him; the blue-violet-eyed boy was pretty sure he had been mumbling about the catheter again and cursing at some of the nurses earlier when they attempted to _make_ him pee.

Two more days…

He shivered and the other boy turned his head in confusion, looking at him and whispering, "Hey, Yugi?"

"Yeah?" he asked immediately, sitting straight and searching his face.

"I need to pee."

"So go pee."

"No. I still have that tube in my penis."

"You should pee through the tube and into the little bag."

"No! Don't you know they want me to do that so that they can sell my piss on the black market?"

"Why would they…?" Yugi furrowed his brows. "Yami, I don't think…"

"You don't know! See? You have no idea!"

"Yami, seriously just pee into the—"

"I knew you were part of this conspiracy too," Yami hissed, turning away with a glare at the TV. "I don't like you anymore. Leave me alone."

Yugi rolled his eyes and moved to take a seat on the bed, not the least bit surprised when Yami changed his mind and wrapped his arms around his torso, burying his face in his side, though he did admit to being startled when he mumbled, "I love you…so, so much" before his breath started evening out.

The smaller boy stared at him for a moment and then ran his fingers through his hair, combing his scalp with his fingertips and chewing his cheek. "Love you too," he managed to breathe out, sighing softly and feeling a little uncomfortable with the admittance despite how right it was.

For a long minute Yami merely breathed against his side, not really doing anything but this, and then finally he rasped out a soft, "Why?" that made him blink in confusion.

"Why what?" he asked, furrowing his brows. "Why what Yami?"

Yugi spent a few minutes straining his ears for the other boy's voice, struggling and feeling as if the next noise he heard might burst his eardrums with the effort he was putting into it, but all he could hear was the harsh quality of Yami's even breathing as he fell asleep again.

* * *

Yami hadn't answered the text he had sent him.

Yugi chewed his cheek and fumbled with his pencil, spinning it around awkwardly in his hand and biting back some worry; the teacher continued droning about the subject of something like the World Wars but it wasn't enough to stop him from constantly fidgeting.

He probably wasn't awake yet; he seemed to sleep longer at the hospital than he would have at home. He guessed that had to do with something along the lines of actually feeling safe there as opposed to his home.

The small teen flipped his pencil in his fingers again and swallowed hard, chewing his cheek and fighting off the urge to just get up and flee the room, ditch school and go back to the hospital. He had a feeling he was missing something and aside from that, his mind was still plagued with Yami's voice whispering, "Why?" against his skin, so soft that it was almost impossible to hear.

Why?

Why _what_?

What was he supposed to say to that if he didn't even know what it was that Yami was talking about in the first place? Why what? Why _…_ why, why, _why_?

Two more hours and he would be out and free to visit him, maybe get an answer about what Yami had been asking him, that thing that the red-eyed teen refused to let him bring up no matter how hard he tried to steer the conversation in that direction…

* * *

_Had to go to school today…I've missed nine days in a row. Did you know they expel you if you miss ten_? _Like, what the fuck_?

"Elderberry morning and night," he agreed, nodding dismissively from where he had been staring at his phone screen before looking over his shoulder at his cousins and then the window, peeking out for a moment; he was being ridiculous but he kept feeling as if the blue-violet-eyed teen was going to suddenly appear out of nowhere if he wasn't careful. Only two hours before Yugi got out of school and no doubt his lack of response would send him running there to check on him; Yami didn't plan to be there when that happened. "Grapefruit seed extract mixed in water, wash sinuses. Either bend over and pour it until it drains from the other side or with a nasal spray bottle—lots of sprays, bend over and spray until you feel like you will drown, then blow your nose. Repeat as needed. Or as long as you can handle it. If coughing, expectorant is needed. Breathing steam—hot peppers to get the sinuses to run and loosen the gunk. I've got it. Eat stuffed peppers if I want to, yeah, yeah, yeah."

"You may want to try some Lobelia extract as well. I've seen it work wonders quickly of asthma. Also Aerobic Oxygen would be good and the health food store down the street can fill you in on it. If you cannot find Aerobic, you can use the 35% Hydrogen Peroxide—the straight stuff will burn you so be careful—in a mix of about ten drops for an eight ounce cup of distilled water and drink that. Do not exceed twenty-five drops. I know some people can take a lot more but I don't think you should attempt more than ten to twenty-five for the time being, okay?"

Yami rolled his eyes and nodded, not even surprised when his cousins took him shopping immediately afterwards; he looked over the prescriptions as he handed the pharmacist one for his pain and antibiotics. Bakura gathered a bunch of medical tape and gauze and Marik went about grabbing the distilled water and searching for the extracts and peroxide but all Yami could think as the girl tried to make small talk with him was that Yugi had gotten out of school, confirmed a moment later when his phone chimed.

The text was simple enough, a little note that he was glad he had gotten out and was okay and that he'd probably check on him at some point the next day.

The red-eyed teen turned his head away from the screen, pressing the lock button and putting it into his pocket again as guilt raged on his insides and his heart twisted violently with pain.

He didn't answer him but he went home with Seto as Bakura and Malik ran off to meet their parents for something or other; Yami wasn't sure if they planned to tell them what happened or not but he didn't care to ask either and so instead said goodbye, accepting the ruffling of his hair and the small hug before both of them scattered. Mokuba carried the lighter stuff, Seto insisting on taking the heavy, and neither of them would even let him carry a small pack of an electrolyte mix that Mokuba dropped.

_So now I'm not only wounded but I'm completely incapable of so much as picking something off the floor,_ Yami thought bitterly, following them into the kitchen as they both started unpacking.

"Where's the bathroom?" Mokuba asked, doing that potty dance that made his cousin smile and gesture towards the stairs, giving directions before turning to Seto again as he ran off.

"All right, Seto, say it already," he snapped coldly, grabbing a couple of items from the bag; the brunet wasn't oblivious to the fact that it was the gauze and medical tape and wondered vaguely if he needed to change it already. "You've been itching to do it all day, haven't you?"

"I don't have anything to say."

"Don't bullshit me. You have something on your mind and you've been waiting for a while to spit it out at me so what is it?"

The brunet shook his head. "We're not doing this right now."

"It's either now or never because I won't give you another chance. Say it already."

He paused and narrowed his eyes, movements deliberately slowing for a moment before starting to unload some of the other items, pushing the gallon jugs away from him. "I don't know what you mean."

"Bullshit, Seto."

He shrugged and instead went about emptying some more while the smaller teen bristled furiously and narrowed his eyes into slits. "Fine, if you want me to say it so badly, here it is. You're completely wasting your time with that brat Yugi. The runt is never going to give a damn and I don't want to have to hear you whine about it at any point."

"When have I ever gone to you for advice about something like this? When was the last time I spoke to you about Yugi in any way aside from a mention of his name? Never. And you can be assured that won't change just because I got out of the hospital, Seto."

"You waste yourself on that brat. You don't love him. And he doesn't love you. You just wanted a little taste of freedom and you got it in him but now that your dad's gone, you don't _need_ to use him anymore, Yami."

Yami blinked once, long and slow, and then narrowed his eyes into slits. "Oh, is that it?"

"Yes, you insufferable little brat, that is it," Seto snarled, spinning on him, temper lost before he could even attempt to rein it in. "You've always been like this—stupid decisions, stupid ideas, stupid thoughts altogether. You're making yourself pathetic and worthless for some kind of farce that you _know_ damn well was only ever you wanting to lash out at your father from a safe distance because you were too cowardly to do it to his face."

He shifted slightly, bracing his weight on his right leg more than his left as his muscle strained; he should have wandered around more at the hospital but it was too late for that. He would work it out as he went along.

"Hmm…You get a lot of room to speak, huh?" he sneered, opening his mouth to snap at him further just as Seto grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him forward, nearly off his feet but almost too cautious to do it.

"You pathetic little bastard," he spat, tightening his grip so that the fabric bunched up and strained against his chest, rubbing his skin to the point that it burned. "You have no idea how much you're lowering yourself just to be with the little runt. It's not worth it and you make yourself just as pathetic as he is. I don't think you understand the magnitude of just how much trouble you cause—how much you have _always_ fucking caused me! You and that little brat. If you had just kept it in your pants, you wouldn't be here right now. I wouldn't have had to go through so many legal teams just to get you fucking emancipated against your wishes like I did when you didn't sign the damn documents. Hell, you've been a pain in the ass since we first _met_ , when I had to fucking make up that fake birth certificate and you argued with me for five hours straight that you refused to have your birthday changed from the sixth to somewhere in April. You know how long it took to get that stupid thing redone, how many favors I had to pull and how indebted I got with that last company for your stupid ass?"

Yami narrowed his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. You know what you've done. You know I'm just telling the truth," Seto snapped, shoving him away so that he fell over on his ass and stared up at him, the brunet taking up the position of looming over him angrily. "You refused to have security at your house like I suggested. You ran off so that they could kidnap you. When you first got here you didn't even want to go to school and put me in that compromising position between you and your dad. You've been making my life a fucking hell since I turned fifteen. So forgive me if I wish that you weren't wasting your time with someone as pathetic as Yugi Motou because honestly, I think all my efforts go to waste where he's concerned and I deserve better than that. Don't you agree?"

"I think you're sticking your nose in business that doesn't actively concern you. You are my cousin. But you are not me. And as such you have no true bearing on my life aside from _being there_. Now. Back. Off."

"See, that's where you're wrong. You've been ruining my life for the last two years. You're indebted—"

"You claim I owe you?" Yami cackled, shaking his head with a wide smirk. "Don't you dare. I owe you nothing. I have never owed you anything. Half of the things you have done have not gone down without fights and arguments and endless lectures, without ridicule and you claiming superiority over me. No, I fought you on everything and I won. I owe you nothing just because I didn't feel like letting you restrict me as fully as you wished to do. I am not one to be put in a box. If I was, I would have stayed in Egypt and been the little pet that my father tried to make me out to be. You are not my maker and you are not my owner and I do not bow to you."

"You should be on your knees groveling," Seto snarled, blue eyes flashing dangerously as he stepped closer once more. "You take up most of my time, my resources, constantly bite at me for favors and come to me when things are out of hand—and when aren't they with you? When have things _ever_ been in your control enough that you didn't come running to me like a little bitch? Do you even know how pathetic that is?"

"You keep saying that, but I don't see why you're avoiding what you've been meaning to say the entire time."

"Fine. You want to hear what I have to say? Then _here_ it is." The brunet lowered himself to his level, grabbing his shirt tightly again and baring his teeth. "I wish on everything I own and everything in my life that you did not fucking _exist_. I _hate_ you. I hate how stupid you are and how much you drag me down."

Yami nodded, smirking cruelly, and shoved him away, climbing to his feet after a moment while the other teen glowered at him angrily. "Glad we got that off our chests."

Seto started to all but tremble with anger, teeth grinding to the point that Yami swore he could hear them breaking, hands balled into fists, eyes narrowed dangerously, looking vicious enough to lash out and punch him. Yami merely looked at him and then hurried to grab some of the items on the table, ignoring him when he spat, "Don't do that, you idiot! You'll end up hurting yourself worse and then _I'll_ end up having to take care of you!"

"I can handle a couple of groceries," Yami snapped, not sparing him a glance.

The brunet reached over and knocked the packets of electrolyte mixes and the grapefruit seed extract out of his hand, all of it sliding across the tabletop for a moment as he gave him a furious glare. "I said don't do that."

"You're overreacting." He paused as Seto seethed and started to open his mouth again. "Tell your brother he's being stupid."

The brunet stopped short and glanced past Yami, confused when he didn't immediately see Mokuba, about to snarl at him not to use his brother as an excuse to win an argument, when the smaller boy came from around the corner with a timid look.

"Um…"

"That's fine. Um works too," Yami teased, winking at him before turning back to gather some of the packets again, glowering when they were knocked from his hand again. "Son of a…"

"Not in front of Mokuba."

"Not in front of Mokuba," Yami agreed shortly, nodding and giving him a look that said he clearly wasn't finished but it was better to just put it behind him for the moment. He spun around on his younger cousin and instead murmured, "So, you want to go play video games? I guess since Seto wants to do all the work himself—as always—we should just go ahead and enjoy some time together, yeah?"

"Okay!" the eight-year-old said immediately, heading for the couch while the red-eyed teen smirked at the brunet with a condescending expression and then wandered off to join him.

* * *

A week of Yami's reluctance to answer his phone calls, text messages, emails and even the door, and Yugi finally got fed up. At first he started to say he hated him, just to get it out there and be able to get rid of some of his frustration, but the idea made his knees weak with a strange sickness that nearly forced him to tears with the pain it bred. And he was pretty sure that wasn't normal but he didn't want to question it and just settled for it being him having grown so attached, that saying he hated him when he loved him so much just hurt too much for him to do.

"Okay, what the fuck is wrong with your cousin, damn it?" Yugi snarled as soon as he was close enough, having used the back route to get to him, stopping in front of him on his way to class and immediately blocking him.

The silver-haired teen looked at him as if he had lost his mind, dark brown eyes narrowing into slits of frustration and disgust as if he wanted to smack him aside before his lips pulled up into a wide smirk, shaking his head even as he bared this teeth slightly. "You have some serious balls approaching _me_ like that," he growled, stepping forward once.

"Just tell me what the hell is wrong with the moron. He doesn't answer the door, won't pick up the phone…He won't even fucking respond to emails. He doesn't text back. He doesn't call me. And I know for a fact that he's still alive because if he wasn't then you and Malik wouldn't be nearly as easygoing as you are right now," he snapped between his teeth, not the least bit intimidated by the taller teen as he raised an eyebrow. "Well? What's wrong with him?"

"How the fuck would I know?" he complained, rolling his eyes with a cruel expression that clearly said he wouldn't mind tearing him limb from limb some time. "Yami is fickle as all shit half the time."

"No, he's the most stubborn fucking bastard that's ever _existed_."

He opened his mouth to argue and then reconsidered, smirking and shrugging. "Yeah, that's true. Fucking stubborn ass little bastard, isn't he?" he muttered in a somewhat affectionate voice, though it held more amusement and an underlying threat than anything else.

"Yeah, so what the fuck is wrong with him?"

"Why the fuck are you talking to me about this?" he snapped. "I'm not his keeper."

Yugi smacked the papers out of his hand. "Those say otherwise, Bakura," he sneered angrily; Ryou had already told him that Bakura had wanted to skin him alive for what he was doing with his cousin, that he hated him and wanted him gone from Yami's life so it wasn't the least bit surprising to find that he was fighting even telling him how Yami was in the first place.

His lips curled back and a small snarling sound made Yugi brace himself for any kind of movement in case he lashed out, straightening his back and narrowing his eyes in direct challenge. Bakura was lethal, yes, but if he did anything to him and Yami actually found out—and he had a feeling that Yami would _always_ fucking find out—the red-eyed boy would skin him alive before he could even blink.

"Well? Are you going to pick them up?" he sneered. "Maybe when you do you can also learn to read and see that it's your _cousin's_ name on each one of those stupid sheets."

"If he wasn't so fucking _attached_ to you," Bakura spat, immediately falling silent and shaking his head before grabbing the papers and smacking him across the face with them, glaring as Yugi blinked once and then glowered in response; it hadn't hurt, of course, but it had been a little out there in terms of retaliation. "Anyways, fuck off already. I'm not telling you shit."

"Telling him shit about what?" a new voice inquired and Yugi looked over, feeling Bakura's brown eyes still boring into his face, to see that Malik was approaching with a popsicle in his mouth. His tongue was stained blue when he licked at the icy treat to prevent leakage and the smaller teen stared at him for a moment, realizing belatedly why he had been a little relieved to hear his voice in the first place; he was his ally in this. If he really wanted information from Bakura then perhaps Malik could help him get it or the blond would give it to him anyways…

"Yami. The little fucker seems to think he has a right to know about him," Bakura snapped, the tension from their fight from long ago still clear in his voice as he glared pointedly at Yugi as if he realized that he knew exactly the amount of frustration that he had brought upon the entire family.

The blond gave him a small frown around his popsicle, studying him for a moment before shrugging slightly and going back to the frozen dessert, his nonchalance truly making him want to wring his neck and Bakura's. Malik was his ally, yes, but he wasn't about to start something more than he already had, and that left Yugi practically stranded.

"Doesn't he though?" Ryou asked softly, coming over to their sides as he blinked and studied him for a moment as well, turning his milk chocolate brown eyes towards the silver-haired teen who curled his lips and turned on him with a noise of complete disgust.

"What? Fuck no," Bakura spat viciously.

Malik snickered and bit off the last piece of the colored ice and chewed it thoughtfully before tossing the stick into the trashcan a few feet down the hall near the art classroom; Yugi watched him do a fist pump before turning to him with a bright grin. "Yami said he didn't want contact with him."

Ryou looked over at him with wide eyes wide, startled by the information, while Yugi took in the approach of the other sandy blond teen who appeared confused by the information. All Yugi could think about was when the fuck the four of them had started hanging out but the thing that came out of his mouth was a snarl of "Fuck you. He never said that."

Malik snickered and grinned widely. "He's feisty." Yugi smacked his wrist away angrily, expression furious, when he pinched his cheek and the blond started laughing harder. "No, not quite. But I mean, in less words, at least."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means you should fuck off before I lose my temper," Bakura snarled.

"Fuck you," Yugi snarled back, shoving him backwards when the silver-haired teen stepped forward again; the other three went wide-eyed and Malik burst out laughing as he held his cousin back with his arm stretched out between them. "Now _what_ the hell is wrong with him?"

"There is nothing _wrong_ with him," the blond drawled, rolling his eyes but giving him a slightly sympathetic look that the smaller teen glowered at. "He's just being retarded right now but that's really nothing new anyways."

"So then why the fuck isn't he answering the door or the phone or texts or even _emails_?" he snarled, voice lifting into something akin a screech at the last word to make sure that none of them dismissed the question like Bakura looked as if he might do.

All four of them covered their ears and stared at him with shocked expressions, Yugi merely scowling before sniffing indignantly once and crossing his arms rather than getting louder like he was debating doing. " _Well_?" he spat as they all started to pull their hands away after a long minute, the four pairs of brown and purple eyes staring back at him with shock still evident in their expressions.

"You're a loud little fucker," Bakura commented, shaking his head before smirking widely. "I'm glad I at least called him _before_ you two started fucking that day. I bet you're a real screamer, huh?"

Malik chortled and couldn't help but laugh out loud when Yugi's cheeks turned bright red at the comment; he'd _almost_ screamed, he admitted that, but he was still hardly a screamer. Oh gods, how awkward was this?

"You have no shame."

Gods, how much weaker a response could he make?

"I do not," Bakura agreed with a devious smirk. "Life is much easier that way."

His blond cousin smirked in amusement, snorting softly.

"Okay, well at least tell me if Yami is _okay_ ," he pressed, annoyed.

"He says his side and shoulder hurt," Malik provided, seeming more than a little pointed in the comment, as if he were frustrated that Yugi was backing down so easily.

But then both cousins swapped looks and burst into laughter, the blond leaning against the silver-haired teen who doubled over with the worksheets pressed into his torso, tears leaking from both of their eyes; Yugi furrowed his brows and gave a bewildered glance towards Marik and Ryou who shook their heads slowly and shrugged in complete confusion.

"That's absolute _bullshit_ ," Bakura howled, wiping at his eyes.

"He's actually just avoiding you," Malik stated, shrugging with a slightly apologetic look around his laughter.

Yugi flinched and chewed his cheek. "A-any idea why?"

Both of them seemed to sober up suddenly, staring at him as if he had completely lost his mind before rolling their eyes in unison and shaking their heads, turning and starting out the building again.

"What the fuck?" Yugi called after them loudly, starting to follow immediately. "You two have to know!"

"We do," Bakura called back over his shoulder with a wide smirk. "Doesn't mean we have to tell you _shit_!"

Malik glanced over at him with a look that clearly said he should have tried harder, that he wasn't going to pick up the slack for him with that one, and Yugi wanted to snap at him but realized he had a point to be like that. He honestly should have tried a little harder, should have dug his heels in where Bakura was trying to push him away.

"God fucking—Fuck you, Bakura!"

"You're too small," the silver-haired teen laughed.

Yugi blushed furiously. "It's in my genes!" he muttered with a despaired undertone, chewing his cheek and glancing at Marik and Ryou who were watching him with sympathetic looks. "It's not my fault I'm short!"

Marik shook his head as he and Ryou started over to his side.

"He didn't mean height," the blond said simply.

Yugi took a moment and then covered his rapidly-reddening face. "Fuck my life."

"Consider it fucked," Ryou said politely.

The smaller teen glared at them both and then sighed loudly. "Ryou, you're actually at his house a lot, right? To check on him?"

"Yeah…sometimes."

"Are you going over today?"

"Yes."

Yugi rolled his eyes; did he have to spell this out for him? He glanced at the quizzical look and bit back a snarl of frustration; of course he did.

"Could you tell him I asked about him? Or could you tell me how he is tomorrow? I want to know if he's okay, because those two were pretty much a dead end."

"Oh—oh! Yes, sure. I can do that."

* * *

"Your shoulder is infected," Ryou commented, chewing on his lip as he kept his sleeve pushed up and continued examining it; he guessed Malik hadn't been completely lying when he had said that Yami was saying his shoulder hurt. Judging just by the look of it, he had to say that it probably hurt like a bitch.

"You don't say," Yami drawled dryly, flipping the page of his book and ignoring the way that the other teen paused for a moment and then sighed softly, shaking his head.

"How did you end up reopening it?"

The red-eyed teen narrowed his gaze and ignored him pointedly; he was not about to relive his nightmares.

"Yami?"

"None of your business."

Ryou sighed again. "Okay," he conceded easily. "But we should probably set it up for you to go back in later."

He didn't argue, instead flipping another page.

"You know…"

"Hmm?"

"Yugi asked about you today."

"That's nice."

"He—"

"Enough," he snapped viciously. "I do not wish to talk about this. I am tired. My shoulder hurts. My side stings. My head is _throbbing_. My throat is sore. My nose bled all night. My lungs have this really raspy quality that sounds like Darth Vader is trying to fucking speak to me through them whenever I breathe. I have not _slept_ yet. I do not _need_ to hear you talking about Yugi. I do not _care_. Set up the damn appointment if you want but do _not_ attempt indulging a conversation with me. And _never_ about Yugi. Do we understand each other?"

Ryou flinched but didn't scurry off like anyone else in close proximity would have in his place. "Okay," he sighed. "No conversation."

Yami let out a sharp huff and the other boy blinked in surprise, tilting his head as if in question, and it took him a moment to realize Ryou was _listening_ to the raspy whistle that accompanied each breath he took.

He shifted away slightly, awkward and self-conscious. He hadn't realized it was so loud. He had figured he could hear it only because it was _his_ lungs involved. But even then it was rather dull in volume; there was also the idea, however, that it was only so low because he had unconsciously begun blocking it out like he did whenever he got a cold.

Ryou didn't say anything. Not about his shoulder and not his breathing either.

Yami didn't know if that was because he had told him to shut the fuck up in such a nicer phrase or if it was because he _had_ nothing to say in the first place.

And he wasn't sure to whether to be grateful or not…

"I think there might be fluid in his lungs," the albino announced thirty minutes later after they had gotten seated in the examination room, the brown-eyed teen going so far as to _insist_ it was an emergency for whatever reason, something that made Yami glare at him the entire time they had been around each other. "And I don't think the antibiotics he was given are strong enough. His shoulder is infected pretty badly and he wouldn't let me see his side but if you look he's leaning a little to the left so I imagine it doesn't feel good and he mentioned earlier that it stung. That could be from pulling the stitches slightly or reopening this one as well. He said he has a headache. He said he can't sleep. I _think_ there may be some internal bleeding because he coughed earlier and I didn't see it but he wiped his hand on his pants so…And I think it's esophagus rather than his lungs. Maybe his throat. But I don't really recall any soot…"

The doctor stared at him for a long minute and gave him a smile that he had to admit looked a little flirtatious. "I almost feel as if _you're_ the doctor right about now," she teased, chuckling.

Yami bristled, finally turning his attention from the window where he had been counting a few red cars to them with a violent snap of his head. "I want a new one," he spat coldly, staring at Ryou with a furious expression.

"What?" both of them asked, eyes wide at the statement.

"I want a _new one_ ," he repeated through his teeth. "I want a _new_ doctor."

She gawked at him as if he had just slapped her and Ryou looked too stunned to even respond, blinking wide brown eyes as he stared at the other boy who let out a low noise like an animalistic snarl.

"I— _what_?"

"'I almost feel as if _you're_ the doctor right about now'," he sneered angrily, grabbing the edges of the table tightly enough that the edges bit into his fingers and left them stinging. "I want an _actual_ doctor because if you're so _easily_ awed then that means you're _hardly_ worth the money you're paid. And, _by the way_ , he's in _high school_ , moron."

"Oh my god!" Ryou exclaimed, eyes stretched to owlish proportions and voice coming out in a slight croak. "Holy shit, Yami. I know you don't want to be here but—"

"You? You. Know. _Nothing_ ," Yami spat, spinning on the albino with a furious expression. "You know absolutely _nothing_ , you little shit."

The other teen flinched but didn't argue, instead busying himself with his phone, glancing at him once through his lashes before going back to it immediately again.

"Don't you _dare_ try sedating me!" he snarled, glaring at her angrily. "And get me a _new_ doctor!"

"Yami—"

"It is within my _rights_ to demand a change of doctors so bring me a _new_ one, damn you."

"All right, all right! Just calm—"

"I will _calm_ myself when you are _out_ of my sight."

"Oh my god," Ryou breathed, chewing his lip in an effort to keep form laughing; it wasn't _meant_ to be funny and he pretty sure he _should_ have been attempting to calm him down some but his _being there_ seemed to be a trigger within itself. He thought it was maybe because of his disregard when he mentioned Yugi but then again, maybe he was just mad and this was how he decided to show it. Ryou wouldn't have been surprised if he was targeting him purely because he could. As long as he wasn't actually _attacking_ him or the doctor then he didn't really mind it.

Besides he had to be unhappy as it was. His shoulder and side _had_ to hurt. And, if he was honest with himself, Ryou knew without thinking about it that something was off and he was truly miserable. His defensiveness when it came to his wounds or Yugi or really _anything_ in general said that much though there was something else beneath the surface that he wanted to sink his fingers in but had no idea how to do so. He made a good show of hiding it all when it came down to it but it was impossible to really miss it when you were around him for longer than a few minutes.

" _Jesus_ , Yami," a new voice muttered.

" _Goddamn it_ ," the red-eyed teen spat, looking ready to lunge at him. "You called _him_ here?"

"It was either _him_ or Seto," the albino stated, shifting awkwardly in his seat at the enraged expression. "Hey, be glad it isn't Yugi."

He lunged and his cousin caught him around the middle, laughing out loud and shaking his head. " _Shit_."

"Damn it, Bakura, _let me go_ ," Yami snarled, ignoring the pain in his side and shoulder.

" _Hell_ no," he laughed. "Now calm down or I'll sic Seto on you."

He considered his chances for a moment, really wondering if he could handle having the brunet near him after that conversation they had shared before; anger prickled through his system like sharp barbs, hitting him hard enough that his blood heated dangerously and his senses flared with it for a split second.

Yami forced his muscles to relax some and then pulled Bakura's hands off him, pushing him away and fighting a wince at the sharp shot of pain in his side. "I'd rather have Malik at this point," he spat, shaking his head. "How the fuck did you even get here that fast? He _just_ texted you."

" _Actually_ , he texted me the moment you started being a little _bitch_ ," he snorted, looking him over for a moment. "Fuck you look like shit."

" _Really_? I thought I looked so fabulous that I could shit rainbows," he quipped sardonically.

Bakura smirked and raised a brow, eyes shining with pure amusement. "Cute. You think you're a _unicorn_."

"Bitch, I am _fabulous_ enough to be one," he scoffed, turning his head and freezing as the new doctor came in, eyes widening drastically at the sight of silver-gray hair that made his head spin. "Oh fucking hell…"

Flashes of green and white and gray caught his attention for a moment but it faded back to that steel-like shade of color that made his heart skip and his stomach twist painfully in confusion. He was…

Atem…Atem had lied…

Atem had…

Why the fuck would he lie though?

Staring at the man and backing up a step with his eyes wide and his entire body tensed up, Yami couldn't figure out a reason for him to do so. Unless he had been really put off by the idea of him saying no to him in the Puzzle but then again, he had been talking about soul catchers before that—so, no, that couldn't be—

Ryou jumped to his feet, gawking as his eyes widened in pure shock and terror, and watched as the shorter teen backed up into the table hard enough to send it against the wall with a loud resonating noise. Yami reached out immediately, that reflexive instinct to grab something and try to catch himself, but the albinos both watched as he caught the paper in his hand and then tumbled to the floor backwards, head slamming into the metal. Bakura opened and closed his mouth as his cousin backed up further until he was completely pressed against the wall, eyes wide and the pupils dilated to the point that the red was a mere ringlet of color that made his stomach twist violently.

"Y-you can't _be_ here. You aren't _supposed_ to—I killed you," he rasped shakily, breathing harshly, loudly enough that everyone in the room could hear the sharp rattling wheezing quality that came with each inhale. "Y-you're dead. I stabbed you. Y-you can't…"

"What is he—?" the doctor demanded, voice coming out slightly sharp, alarmed and definitely hanging on to every word about the comment that he had stabbed him.

"He took all his meds at once," Ryou stated suddenly, slightly surprised to hear his voice in the air, eyes widening drastically for a second before he nodded at the doctor. "It gives him vivid dreams and hallucinations—nightmares, not dreams. Nightmares. He missed the dosage before I got to his house to check on him and I had him take them, thinking he would wait at least a few minutes between, but he took them all at once. I didn't realize he had done that—mixed them all together like that. The side effects when they're taken together are vivid nightmares and hallucinations. To the point that it's impossible for him to tell reality from the memory of his nightmares or just the hallucinations in general. He doesn't even know what the hell he's saying right now…"

Bakura shot him a confused look and then turned back to his cousin; he was really kind of hoping that Ryou was right because if Yami had actually _killed_ someone, he thought he would be sick.

That rasping wheeze that hit the air made his ears hurt and he blinked as he looked down at the other boy. "Yami—"

"Puzzle…Puzzle…Where the fuck is my Puzzle?" the red-eyed teen hissed, tone a snarl but the words almost nothing more than a mere whisper. "I need…I need…Atem…He lied…I don't…Fuck…"

"Huh?"

Bakura turned on Ryou immediately, unsure of what to say to his cousin; wasn't the Puzzle somewhere in the room? He had honestly been hoping that the other boy would have it…

" _Fuck_. I convinced him to put the Puzzle down for a little while," he muttered, shaking his head. "I said I would grab it before we left but I guess I…"

"Aw, fucking…" He turned on the doctor immediately when he spotted the syringe out of the corner of his eye. "Give us a few minutes. Sedatives tend to make him sick. He'll vomit all over everyone if you aren't careful with that shit."

"I…" He debated it for a moment and then looked down at the boy hiding under the table, red eyes wide and so thin in color that it made him slightly queasy; he could still hear him muttering in that terrified voice even if he couldn't pick up the words, though he figured it was still about how he had killed him and he should have been dead. Some medication _did_ make for horrifying results, dangerous nightmares and hallucinations and lapses of judgment, and so maybe it wasn't so far-fetched a statement.

Besides the white-haired boy looked a little familiar and he kind of figured that if he did then that was probably a good thing, in all actuality. After all, he was running the intern program with a few others and now that he really thought about it, he was pretty sure that was exactly where he had seen him, picking up a couple of flyers. If he was actually telling the truth, then taking enough of those pain and anxiety medications together or just more than prescribed in general, then it was honestly no surprise that this kind of thing would happen; maybe he would calm down enough to get a grasp on reality and he wouldn't have to worry anymore about what was going on. He would, after all, be around people he actually _knew_ and trusted versus someone in a white coat trying to calm him down again when he got unhappy. "All right."

Bakura waited until he was completely out of the room and the door was shut to crouch down in front of his cousin, watching him tilt his head and stare at the door. "Ryou, call Seto and tell him to grab the Puzzle," he muttered, unsurprised to know that he was already doing so; he studied the other boy under the table. He wasn't sure what the hell had happened in that warehouse to make him so attached to the Puzzle because he normally only wore it when he got particularly stressed and since then Bakura rarely ever saw him without it. "Yami?"

"I killed him. I stabbed him through the heart and threw him straight into the flames," Yami whispered, looking at him slowly. "He shouldn't be here. Pegasus shouldn't _be_ here. He's dead. I _watched_ him die. I killed him. Atem…Atem told me I didn't fail so he…he can't be here."

"Yami…what the _hell_ are you _talking_ about?"

"He's…talking about having killed someone Pegasus or Atem…or something," Ryou muttered into the phone, glancing at the red-eyed teen and then Bakura and back with a few small steps away from them. "I don't know if it's from the drugs or not but he's freaking out and he wants the Puzzle."

"God fucking…All right, all right," Seto spat. "Where is it?"

"At his house…sitting on the table. I…I think. I forgot it and—" He paused at the dial tone. "How _rude_!"

"Hung up on you?" Bakura asked in a snickering tone though he was still completely focused on his cousin, watching him with dark coffee brown eyes as Yami stared at the door with small, split second glances between him and it.

"Yes…Bloody asshole."

The other albino snorted a laugh, shaking his head slightly. "Yami, hey, so Seto is going to bring the Puzzle in a few minutes okay?" he murmured, attempting at reassuring him only to watch those bright red eyes go from the door to his face and burn like heated lava before glittering like frozen chips of bloodied ice at the mention of their cousin's name.

" _Seto_?" Yami echoed in a soft snarl. " _Seto_ is coming _here_?"

Bakura fought back a wince at the idea that this was most likely going to turn ugly. "He's bringing the Puzzle," he tried again, frowning.

"I don't _want_ Seto _here_ ," he spat coldly.

"Yami—"

"I do not _want_ him here. Call him back and tell him to go fuck himself."

"He's bringing the Puzzle, Yami," Ryou argued, frowning and barely resisting the urge to flinch and step back at the glare he received.

"He's putting his fucking hands on _my_ Puzzle?"

"He's just bringing it here—"

"Are you two both deaf and _stupid_? How many times _must_ I repeat myself? I don't care to have him _here_. I do not _wish_ to see him. And if _he_ is the one bringing my Puzzle, then I do not _want_ it," he spat. " _Do you understand_?"

"Stop—"

"Bakura, _shut_. _The_. _Fuck_. _Up_."

His cousin looked ready to argue but seemed to fall silent at the last second, instead merely nodding once and turning away towards the door; the doctor was watching them through the window but seemed unnerved by Yami's frustration even if he didn't know the subject of it.

"Now _call_ him back and tell him to go _fuck himself_."

"I would…but that seems rude," Ryou said with a shrug. "And I'm not one to be rude."

"You stupid fucking _shit_ ," Yami spat. "Fine, Bakura, _you_ call him."

"Why can't you do it _yourself_?"

"Because _that_ would defeat the _purpose_ , you idiot."

"Well, tough titties, Yami because I am _not_ in the mood to have a big family spat, thank you _very much_."

"Fucking bitch," he sniped.

Bakura rolled his eyes and glanced out the window on the door again, sighing softly and ignoring the quizzical expression on the doctor's face, waiting out the ten minutes it took for his brunet cousin to get there; the moment he stepped inside, Yami got up from where he was sitting on the examination table and snatched the Puzzle out of his hands without even the smallest of glances at him. He burst out laughing when Yami went straight to the sink and ran it under water, scrubbing it down with the towel in the bathroom and then putting it on only when he was sure he had gotten every inch of it.

" _Really_ Yami?"

The red-eyed teen settled back on the exam table, ignoring him. "You can go ahead and call the doctor back in. But I want a _new_ one."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Seto spat, narrowing his eyes into slits. "This is absolute _shit_. You pulled me out of a _massive_ business meeting and now you're fucking—"

" _I_ did nothing of the sort. _Bakura_ asked _Ryou_ to call _you_. _I_ told _them_ to tell _you_ to go _fuck yourself_ ," Yami stated calmly, looking straight ahead and ignoring the tallest teen in the room.

Ryou blinked but got up and wandered outside to talk to the doctor despite his curiosity; Bakura cast him a small glance but was immediately back to watching his cousins again, standing straight as Yami continued staring in front of him, Seto glaring at the red-eyed teen with a narrowed gaze and crossed arms.

"Too chicken shit to say it to me _yourself_?"

Yami's head tilted and Bakura watched a muscle jump in his jaw, growing insanely excited; if they started tearing into each other he was going to have the _time of his life_. Fights between the two of them were _always_ fun to watch because punches were never pulled and shots almost _always_ ended up below the belt.

"I'm not having this argument with you. It's not worth it," the red-eyed teen hissed; Bakura instantly deflated. "Now leave so I can get this checkup _done_."

"How about I stay _here_ instead?"

The silver-haired teen perked up slightly. Maybe there was still a chance…

Yami's head snapped around to stare at the brunet, jaw clenched tightly enough that the muscles were deeply pronounced under his skin and his narrowed eyes blazed. For a moment he merely studied his cousin and then he turned away again just as fast, grinding his teeth. "Whatever."

_Damn it_ , Bakura thought, fighting off a loud sigh; stupid Yami. He just _had_ to be all about _not_ letting Seto get under his skin.

"Oh, _and_ he mentioned his nose bleeding last night," Ryou announced, walking back into the room with yet another doctor.

"Oh, _be still_ my raging hormones," Bakura purred. "She is _hot_."

Seto and Yami both looked up with wide eyes, glancing at her and then the nurse that followed; the red-eyed teen admitted she was pretty but _hot_ was definitely a stretch. The nurse was borderline hot but not enough to deserve the emphasis Bakura had put on it.

"I'm guessing you're studying to become a doctor," she laughed, starting towards Yami and tilting her head. "When they said you had recently been in a serious fire, I was expecting burn marks but you look relatively well."

" _Relatively_?" Yami scoffed. "You need your eyes checked. I look _amazing_."

She gave him an amused smile. "Yes, my mistake."

He nodded curtly, simply, turning away and kicking his feet because he was pretty sure there was nothing else he could do.

"All right. So we're going to take a look at that shoulder and your throat, listen to your heart and lungs and check that side of yours, okay?"

Yami narrowed his eyes slightly but nodded anyways; he might as well get this over with. There was no actual reason to prolong it and he was tired as it was. He didn't really see the point in giving himself a bigger headache than the one festering under his skull as it was.

"I'm going to be checking out your lungs and thorax first." She glanced at Ryou for a moment. "Do you know how to do this or…?"

"I know the basics but not really enough to do a full exam." He sat up, eager and grinning widely. "Can you demonstrate? I would love to see it—"

"Find a fucking practice dummy then," Yami spat. "I'm not some little toy."

"Yes, but you're someone who actually _has_ been in a fire and I really need the experience, Yami," the albino pleaded, brown eyes wide and doe-like, making the other boy's lip curl back in annoyance. " _Please_. I really don't want to miss out on a procedure if I can study it hands on and up close!"

"You touch me and I'll flay you alive," he snapped, turning his glare on the doctor. "Fine, if you want to let him shadow you, then do so but if you so much as make me uncomfortable I'm going to bite your head off."

"Oh god, don't do it," Bakura said immediately, holding his hands out in a wild gesture. "He honestly might just figure out a way to bite through your neck if we aren't careful!"

Seto smacked him upside the back of the head. "Oh shut up. He may be being a little bitch today but he's not going to hurt anyone."

"Hmm…seems like you seem to think a little too highly of the situation right about now, Seto," the red-eyed teen cooed, voice dropping and growing dangerous as it formed his name. "Might want to step back and shut the fuck up."

"Wow, you all have to be family," the nurse muttered, rolling her eyes.

"All but me," Ryou stated, grinning slightly and eagerly moving closer to stand near the patient and doctor's side, eyes wide. "Don't worry, I'm a quick study."

"If you were you wouldn't be here, now would you?"

The other boy narrowed his eyes. "Hush. I can't hear her explaining if you're talking too."

"Simple-minded blowhard—"

"Fucking hell, Yami, shut up," Bakura muttered, rubbing his face vigorously with his hands. "Damn it. You're just fucking everywhere today."

"Ahem," the doctor cut in immediately, glancing between the three family members and frowning before turning back to the red-eyed teen and offering a small smile. "So, as with all examinations, you should start with inspection. In this case, we'll palpate, listen and discuss. We'll listen to one side and then the other for you to get the full experience, all right? When you do this yourself in the field or whatever, you can palpate both sides and listen at once but for now…"

Yami drowned her out for a moment and then looked at the clock, bristling and baring his teeth when she reached out towards his chest.

"Okay, good, you're paying attention again. I have to explain what I'm doing to you too, just so that you won't freak out or anything. We're going to check your breathing, rate of respiration, effort, things like that." She gave him a small smile. "You don't seem to be in any acute respiratory arrest, by the way. So, we'll start with palpating, checking for any…subcutaneous air trapping."

Yami narrowed his eyes into slits but didn't bother to respond, instead giving her a sharp look and ignoring the way that Ryou looked like an eager dog at her side, entire body tensed with excitement.

"Okay, so I'm going to use my hand to place it here, here and here," she directed, making small movements while Yami rolled his eyes and the brown-eyed boy nodded enthusiastically, obviously taking it all in even as the other grew more irritable. "And then we're going to have you say, 'Ninety-nine'—"

"What?"

"Checking for vibrations. They have to be apparent and symmetrical and it's really important to check for that when you're looking at the lungs and thorax," Ryou cut in, nodding immediately while his cousins glanced at him and Yami bared his teeth before sighing loudly. "Hey, look at it this way, Yami. If I can learn to do this, then we won't even have to leave the house to check your progress anymore, right?"

The red-eyed teen studied him for a long minute and then rolled his eyes.

"Ready?"

"No shit, Nancy Drew," Yami snapped.

She smiled slightly as if the comment amused her and touched just beneath his collarbone, the teen irritably muttering the word so that she could feel it in the parallel spot and then drifted downwards towards his nipples and then beneath on either side. Her amusement wasn't nearly as prominent anymore and Yami glowered at her as she studied him, maybe guessing that the shirt was blocking it or he was honestly having problems, but either way, he didn't ask because the answer held no true interest for him.

"Okay, Yami, I'm going to use the stethoscope now, so if you would lift your shirt for me…" She crossed her arms when he merely looked at her, hardly amused by the request, and both of them stared at each other before Seto finally got fed up and went to grab him; she blinked and the brunet went staggering backwards, holding his nose as Yami glared at him and shook his hand out.

"Fucker," the brunet spat, glaring at him over his hands.

"You're the idiot who can't take a hint," Yami snarled. "I don't want you near me. That certainly includes you _touching_ me, you piece of shit. You do not touch me. You do not speak to me. And if you do so again, I'll make sure to break that nose of yours, got it?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy," Bakura stated, grabbing Seto by the arm and pulling him away when he appeared ready to lunge at him. "Calm down. He's got a point. You shouldn't have tried to force him to do that. I would have fucking punched you too."

"He's just being a little bitch about Yugi," the brunet spat.

"Oh fucking hell, that's what this fight is about?" the silver-haired albino snapped, rolling his eyes. "You have _got_ to be kidding me! _Seriously_?"

"Yami, would you please lift up your shirt for me? I would still like to get this exam taken care of. Just take a deep breath when I touch you with the diaphragm of my stethoscope, okay?"

Yami looked at her for a moment, narrowing his eyes before finally lifting his shirt enough for her to get the message and weasel her hand under it, sliding the stethoscope against his chest and listening as he inhaled.

"You should pay attention to always compare one side to the other, Ryou, always trying to make sure that the placement is relatively the same on either," she explained, nodding slightly so that Yami rolled his eyes but continued his breathing as she moved the stethoscope around; he at least respected her effort to keep this a somewhat normal visit.

"Well, you still shouldn't have touched him," Bakura snapped. "I mean, honestly, what did you expect? Of course he punched you. And no shit he didn't hesitate. I mean, he's already pissed at you for this crap."

"Oh like you don't think he's wasting his time too."

"I never said I didn't."

Ryou turned his head and stared at the other albino just as Yami did the same and the doctor went about steering him to turn to the side to face the wall, instructing him to just continue breathing some while tapping at his back with her fingers. He wasn't really listening to the statements that she was making and the touch of her hand was odd against his skin, but the fact that she had said something about a resonating noise just before she had begun and the lack of sound meeting his ears said that his lungs were not nearly as full of air as they were of fluid and soot…

"All I'm saying is you were asking for it if you were stupid enough to try to force him into pulling his shirt up like that. I mean, how idiotic can you get?"

"He's being such a fucking baby about this brat," Seto spat, shaking his head and glaring over at the red-eyed teen who was occasionally turning around and staring at her as she continued talking to him, explaining what she was doing but for his benefit and not Ryou's now. "It's pathetic. They'll never last and he knows that!"

"Yeah, well…whatever," Bakura snapped in response. "It doesn't matter. His choice."

"He's a fucking idiot. Right about now I'm not even surprised that his dad ditched him."

" _What_?" Ryou snarled, jumping to his feet while the other albino stared at his cousin as if he were seeing doubles but looked almost as if he agreed with the statement; Yami looked over in confusion at his reaction and breathed in when she pressed the stethoscope against his skin, startling him only enough to blink. "You can't fucking say something like that, you bastard!"

"Are you fucking shitting me?" Seto snarled. "Who the hell are you talking to?"

"You!" he snapped angrily. "You bloody idiot! I can't even—and _you_! You're not even going to say anything about that?"

Bakura turned his head away and looked at the floor awkwardly. "I don't agree with what he said but it is—I mean…Yami should know better about this anyways!" he spat, turning on him angrily. "He should know that Yugi is no good for him in the first place and back off while he still has the fucking chance! It's all I've been telling him all week and—"

"You moron! You two are the stupidest bastards I have ever met!" he snarled. "I can't believe this. You're blaming _Yami_ for being disowned—"

"Whoa, whoa, what? I never—"

"But Seto did and you didn't fucking argue, did you, Bakura?" he snapped. "So your silence makes you guilty! Do you even know how life works, you miserable pieces of shit? My god!"

"You're overreacting," Seto sneered. "Not that it's any of your business anyways."

"Are you kidding me? I was there at the stupid warehouse, you morons! I watched Yugi pull him out of there just like the rest of you did. And you still think I don't have a right to point out that you two are miserable little shits with your heads so far up your asses that you deserve to have some sense knocked into you? Are you fucking kidding me?" Ryou all but yelled, the nurse and doctor both swapping looks and then glancing at Yami who seemed a little too shocked to really react at the moment. "You're seriously going to lower yourselves to his father's level just because you don't agree about him liking Yugi? Are you shitting me?"

"Who said anything about—?" Bakura cut in, shaking his head firmly.

"You did, just now! Seto said that he could understand why his dad would ditch him like this over some kind of affection he shows towards someone who probably means more to him than both of you combined!"

Yami blinked and bit back some laughter, shocked but mostly growing amused and spiteful; Ryou was defending him. _Ryou_ , the boy he had just spent almost twenty minutes snapping at because he was pissed off, was _defending_ him. Against _his cousins_. He was half wondering what dimension he had just stepped into; part of him kind of thought that this was a mental illness, the Puzzle slowly mutating his mind, festering inside of him and pulling at his weak links and throwing out a random situation to keep him entertained while he drowned out the doctor's instructions…

"You're blowing this out of proportion," Seto snapped. "No one said that they were going to—"

"You really think that that comment doesn't mean that you're a piece of shit who actually agrees with his dad?"

"I never said—"

"Are you bloody fucking kidding me? You _just did_! You said it not five minutes ago! You agreed with his decision the second you said that!" Ryou cried in annoyance. "You fucking did and now you're being too much of a bitch to admit it! You have got to be fucking kidding me right now!"

"You're taking it out of context."

"No, you fucking moron. That is _not_ taken out of context. You said it in a way that can't _be_ taken out of context, you stupid piece of shit! You're just as bad as his father, you slimy bastard."

"Oh my god," Bakura muttered, opening and closing his mouth with wide eyes when Seto stepped forward, glaring at the other boy; he moved to the space between them, arms stretched out to keep them apart. "Ryou—"

"Shut up, you fucking moron. You're just as bad as he is. _Both_ of you are pretty much his dad just with different faces!"

"No, listen for—"

"No, you know what? You're _worse_ than his dad. Because at least his dad was straight about it, told him that if he really was gay he would disown him. _You_ , on the other hand, just fucking pretend to support him but try to force your opinions on him and are trying to break them up. What the fuck does Yugi have to _do_ exactly for you to get the point that he loves your cousin? I mean, the warehouse wasn't enough for you?" he spat, gesturing to Yami. "He. Would. Not. _Be_. Here. If. Not. For. _Yugi_. Do you even _understand_ that? He wouldn't be here because the rest of us were too fucking chicken shit to go in there after him and Yugi did it. He didn't even fucking hesitate when it came down to it."

"Oh please, he just did it to make Yami feel indebted to him," the brunet snarled, cutting in before the other boy could say anymore. "We all know he didn't go in there to save him because he ' _loves_ him'. He's a slut and he's always _been_ a slut, damn it."

"Oh my god, were you around the same Yugi Motou that I was?" he asked, looking completely confused. "Jesus, you two are the most pathetic inbred mongrels I've ever met."

"Ooh, that sounded super British," Yami commented, blinking when he realized he had spoken out loud; oh well, none of them were paying attention to him…well, aside from the doctor and nurse, but that was more them seeing if he was going to leap into the conversation.

"You know what, if Yami cut you out of his life completely, it wouldn't be good enough a punishment. No, you would deserve nothing _less_ if he cut you out so completely that he never even fucking _spoke_ to you again. I know if I were in his shoes, I would do that exactly. You two obviously don't really deserve him as your cousin if you're fucking making comments about _agreeing with his dad_."

"Are you going to get off your fucking high horse at any point today?" Seto snapped, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Yami knows that we didn't even mean it like—"

" _We_?" Bakura snarled, shaking his head immediately. "I never said—"

"But you didn't argue either, did you, Bakura?" the brunet sneered, drawing him down with him, something that the brown-eyed teen gawked at for a split second before turning immediately to the younger boy. "Like Ryou _said_ , you didn't argue and not arguing is apparently the same as agreeing wholeheartedly with things. Isn't that right?"

"Oh please, don't blame Ryou for having your foot in your mouth," Yami murmured, getting off the examination table. "You're the one who said it. You're just mad that you got caught. And now you're trying to take Bakura down with you because you can't stand to drown alone, right, Seto?"

"At least I don't need someone _else_ to fight my battles."

"I didn't ask him to do that. He came to my defense. That's something that isn't very common for you, right? Because you're enough of a miserable piece of shit that no one wants to do that for you but Mokuba and he only does that because you're his big brother and he looks up to you." Yami cut Ryou a dark look but then turned on Bakura. "But you know, both of them are right. It does seem almost like agreement when you don't argue something like that."

"Yami—"

"And _you_ "—Ryou stepped back, eyes wide in shock as he spun on him and caught him by the shirt, jerking him forward slightly—"I do not _need_ you running to my defense. I am perfectly capable of defending myself from my two boneless bastard cousins. You should mind your own fucking business and get your nose out of mine."

"Hey, leave him alone! He was just—"

Yami released him after a moment when he realized that the other teen was startled but didn't think he would hurt him; lucky guess because he really didn't think he had the energy to do it at the moment. Besides, there was no regret in his eyes like he had expected and it was starting to shake his core…

"I don't think that he wants _you_ playing his protector, Bakura," he snapped. "Not a pathetic inbred mongrel, right?"

His brown-eyed cousin bared his teeth, starting to snarl under his breath as Yami smirked and turned on Seto. "We already had our little spat before. Why you can't get over the fact that I don't care for your opinion on every little aspect of my life, I don't understand, but you should learn to move past it. I don't really give a fuck about your opinion. Especially not where it concerns Yugi. And that goes double for you, Bakura."

"You're making a mistake," Bakura snapped. "He isn't—"

"What did I just say? I don't _care about your opinion_. Do not _care_. Not at all. Bored with it. Tired of it. Not in the mood to listen to it anymore. Thank you, very much. Now please _back off,_ would you?"

Ryou watched him go out the door and then glanced at them with a disdainful expression, racing after him and finding himself not at all surprised that he didn't look back at him as he murmured, "What the fuck are you doing, Ryou? Get the hell out of here. I don't want you around me—"

"Yami, I just want to know if you're okay."

"Knowing that about Seto and Bakura?" he scoffed, not bothering to look back at him. "I already knew that. It's not everyday that they agree almost one hundred percent but I kind of figured they would on this one."

"No, I mean overall, Yami."

He spun around suddenly to stare at him, blinking and then narrowing his eyes into slits very slowly, clenching his jaw. "What? What the fuck are you even talking about?"

"I know that you feel bad about what's going on with Yugi—I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said immediately, stopping in place and chewing his cheek for a long minute. "You know…I just…"

"I am fine," he snapped, turning on his heel and walking immediately again.

* * *

Yami thought maybe he was supposed to pause, hesitate, feel uncomfortable with the task of walking inside but he didn't once have the impulse to do so. Instead he wandered through the door, at first not even looking at it before turning his attention to the handle. He'd seen the burn that Yugi had gotten when he had grabbed it, the melted flesh turned bright red, the heavy blister that covered nearly the entirety of his hand before he'd popped it for the third or possibly fourth time.

Yami reached out and stroked his fingertips over the metal for a moment, almost hoping that he would experience the same pain with the contact but only coming up with the startling chill of winter air and emptiness; he pulled his hand away and walked inside. The beams had fallen, the cranes were black and all but broken in appearance. The walls were stained with soot and glass covered the ground but when he really looked at it all, he found spots of black almost like gentle ripples of water, permanently etched into the concrete and announcing the presence of the flames.

"Did I kill Kemo?" he finally muttered, disgusted by the collapsed equipment, the way that some of it had actually melted or taken such a beating form the flames that its shape had become mutated. His eyes flickered around slowly, taking in the melted stairs and the fallen walkway, the way the barrels had all curled and seemed to have folded in on themselves.

"You know you did," Atem stated calmly at his side, manifesting and walking a few steps ahead of him. "If you had not, the Puzzle truly _would_ have killed you. You wouldn't have woken up in the first place, Yami."

"And that had _nothing_ to with Yugi?" he demanded suspiciously, shooting the spirit a sharp sideways glance.

"No. He got there after Kemo had fallen."

Yami nodded slightly, wondering for a split second if the phrasing was to be taken literal as in him falling off that beam and hitting the floor or if he meant just him dying in general, and then wandered forward a few steps so that his eyes fell on the scraps of metal and the beams.

"… _I'm running straight into a fire that was_ too _hot_ , too _bright_ , _and_ too _strong_ …"

Yami tilted his head, staring at the remains as Yugi's words passed through his thoughts; the Puzzle must have done this.

"It's not here," Atem whispered suddenly, head snapping around to face him with wide eyes that shimmered with alarm. "Someone must have taken it…"

"I don't understand what you mean," he admitted softly, shaking his head. "What isn't here? What is it that we're looking for?"

"The Eye. The Eye is not _here_ ," he breathed, his gaze growing wild and sharp.

"I don't know what that _means_ ," the red-eyed teen stressed, confused as he took in his ancestor's frantic state, the way that the pharaoh's hands tightened into fists for a split second before he turned away again immediately.

"The Millennium Eye, Yami."

His skin made a jerking movement over his muscles, twitching and almost burning for a split second as his organs started a strange nervous dance inside of him; his eyes shot around the room again before settling on the debris in front of him.

"Pegasus had the Millennium Eye?"

"Yes," Atem sighed softly, making a movement that Yami thought was his jaw clenching and unclenching as he shook his head slightly. "He had the Eye…"

Yami supposed that made sense now that he truly considered it. It certainly explained how he had been planning that ritual to bleed him and gain himself luxuries. It also served to explain the reason Yami had been unable to use the Puzzle on him, why Arkana was free of its influence before he had pushed at his mind until the barrier had shattered so fully.

"So the Items don't work on each other."

"In theory they cannot unless one holding an Item opposes another in a game or battle," Atem stated cautiously, as if he were afraid of even telling him this much. "The loser would then be able to be subjected to the winner's Item."

Yami crouched down and stared at a stain of deep red, the way that it had been dragged and smeared in two parallel lines that were awkwardly placed in width apart, following the line of color to another massive splotch and then small droplets…

"I almost forgot how important games were to Egyptians," he commented softly, trying to picture Yugi pulling him through the flames and feeling his heart ache. He stared at the path of blood, saw the way that the stains that marked where the flames had been seemed slightly lessened, almost as if they had moved away to give them passage. "You never…tested that theory?"

"No. I never saw the need," the spirit admitted, sounding unsure and guilty now, probably blaming himself now for the disappearance of the Item. "Not many would…openly oppose their pharaoh…"

The red-eyed teen unconsciously reached up to cup the ancient pendant, holding it and hating the chill that greeted the action, the way it seemed to travel through every cell of his body and dig its way into his bones, festering there and feeling as if it were crystallizing the marrow. "Why did I survive and not Pegasus? Surely the Puzzle is not the only Item to protect the one wearing it…" he muttered quietly, not truly considering the words leaving his mouth. "How do we know he didn't just survive?"

"He didn't. He _couldn't_ ," Atem said simply, casting a look around. "You did the ritual right. You stabbed him through the heart with that knife he planned to use on _you_. And besides that, he gave up the moment you threatened his life. He lost and you won. He was vulnerable to the Puzzle as well as the sacrifice. There is no question as to whether he died or not."

"So then why have I waited so _long_ to try to retrieve it? Why not take it _before_ I threw him over the railing?" he murmured, shooting Atem a frustrated look. "Why didn't you _tell_ me to?"

"Because he was not dead yet and doing so would have been your suicide," the pharaoh stated softly, a small pleading look for his understanding crossing his eyes for a moment. "You may have won but if he was not dead before you attempted to take it, it could damn well have killed you."

"Is that why when people try to take the Puzzle it burns them?"

"Yes. And in such a state in which the Item's host is dying they are most volatile. That is why when you are hurting the Puzzle does more. Like at that…camp. When the boy tried to steal it in your sleep. You were tired and still bruised from your father's punishments before arriving there. The Puzzle blinded the counselors, burned them…gave that boy such vicious nightmares…"

Yami nodded and rubbed at his temples, feeling almost tired with trying to keep up with it all. "This is complicated."

" _Magic_ is complicated."

He ignored him in favor of sifting through some of the melted rubble, moving onto his knees and coughing at the dusty black cloud that came up with each movement.

"Get up," Atem hissed, grabbing his arm tightly and tugging once hard enough to grab his attention; his touch was cold and made his skin crawl but it was _there_ , heavy and forceful, physical and completely impossible to ignore.

"How…?" Yami managed, staring at his arm and dragging his eyes towards the other boy's in disbelief.

"You're connected to the Puzzle, _I_ am connected to the Puzzle. It's actually more of your mind being manipulated but either way, get up."

"…I wanted to—" His lungs twitched and strained, the cough jumping out of his mouth before he could stop himself, pain making its way through his system before he could think straight; for a moment he honestly swore his organs all shifted beneath his skin and shook as he made a vain attempt to stop the fit racking his body.

"It's not here. It is not under the rubble," Atem said softly, voice taking on a gentle note. "Now you should go home and rest. This entire place is covered in soot and you will only end up hurting yourself if you stay here."

"But…" Yami rasped around his hands, prepared to argue until he cast a small glance at the metal again; there was a low yet keen noise that met his ears with every breath and he could feel his throat slowly but surely beginning to close somewhat, strained to the point that he wouldn't have been surprised if blood welled into his mouth at this rate.

"No arguments," the pharaoh said quietly. "It's not here, Yami. If it was, you would sense it."

The teen supposed that was true.

He waited a moment before drawing himself to his feet, keeping his mouth and nose covered and swallowing thickly; his throat seemed to scream in pain for the duration of the action, burning as he stretched the muscles. His energy was back but he still had to pay attention to the soot in his lungs and throat and the way that his wounds strained constantly despite the antibiotics and consistent cleanings.

Yami ignored the impulse to attempt clearing his throat and turned on his heel, wandering out with Atem following a few steps behind.

* * *

_All right, you fucking bastard, you're going to open this door,_ Yugi thought determinedly, rolling up his sleeves dramatically and pounding at the door hard. He froze at the sound of movement, the way that he could hear Yami's sneakers softly touching the tile and moving towards the door. A flare of pure excitement and happiness shot through him and for a split second it felt doubled, tripled, and then seemed to fall back to being completely his again, alone and a little smaller than it had originally been.

Yami wasn't going to open the door.

"Yami, please."

For a second he thought he could hear his palm touching the brass of knob, the taller teen possibly twisting but most likely locking it. Yugi trembled for a moment and then shook his head, banging a second time.

"Just talk to me," he pleaded, swapping his right hand for his left when a sharp jolt of pain spiked through him; he was pretty sure it wasn't his knuckles but for the hell of staying rational, he was pretending it was.

Yugi leaned against the door, pressing his ear to it and knocking once more; he could feel him and he was pretty sure he could hear him now too. He didn't know if it was conscious or not but Yami pressed his weight against the door and the smaller teen shivered at the sound of the wood being pushed and the small rasping noise that came with it.

"Come on, talk to me, Yami," he muttered softly, chewing his cheek and trying not to scream in frustration at the fact that he was well aware Yami was right there, in his reach if he could only get the door open. Yugi lowered his eyes to the knob and grabbed it before he could really think it through, twisting and pressing his weight into it; the other teen snorted in surprise but sounded as if he was trying not to laugh as he braced himself in response.

"Oof," the smaller boy grunted, ramming his shoulder into the wood and hissing in pain; damn, Yami must have gotten some of his strength back because this was insane. "Shit, okay, just say something and I'll leave, okay?"

He opened his mouth and then shut it again; he didn't want him to leave. But he didn't want to talk either and seeing him would hurt just as bad as him just not trying. He swore Yugi was going to burst through at any minute if he wasn't careful…and he wasn't even sure he didn't want that to happen.

Yami narrowed his eyes for a moment; if he let him in, he would want to talk and he couldn't do that right then. Hell, he didn't want to have anyone around for the time being. Yugi was half-included although impulse made him want to run straight to him. But it was better not to tempt something like the Puzzle with inconsistencies, as Atem had told him so many times it was not even funny.

He braced himself for a moment, keeping himself still and waiting; Yugi lessened the pressure some, almost as if concerned, and Yami slammed the door shut harshly, earning an unceremonious curse of frustration as he flipped the lock.

"You fucking bastard," Yugi breathed, pounding on the door harder than he had before. "Damn it, Yami, just open the door or speak to me or do something! I just wanted to know if you were okay!"

Yami chewed his cheek and hung his head; no, he wasn't okay…

Three hours passed with Yugi spitting curses in between hitting the door and panting for breath and just generally sounding broken and weak. Yami kept his head bowed, swallowing against the lump in his throat and the tears that threatened to gather in his eyes.

"Please?" Yugi whimpered weakly, leaning against the wood and breathing hard with a loud sighing noise that made Yami tilt his head towards him in acknowledgment.

"Please…?"

He was half wondering if Yami had wandered off at some point, but the pain was raw and flesh and it was doubling, tripling, flaring and biting to break at places he didn't know existed inside of him and it was just enough to say that Yami was right there with him. He just didn't know why he wasn't answering…

"…P-please…?" he begged, voice cracking as he finally gave in to the urge to curl up with his knees against his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and sobbing into the denim of his jeans.

His heart had just crumbled and fallen to dust, a beautiful powdered sugar dyed a brilliantly striking red. Yugi shivered; his insides twisted bitterly, full of pain and an ache that would never die because at least it let him know he was still alive when he was starting to wish he was dead…

* * *

Yugi was pretty sure he was ill—physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically ill. It was everywhere and it tainted everything. It was beneath his skin and it weighed him down like lead, his entire body almost too heavy to move. His skin was clammy all the time and his stomach wouldn't stop twisting. His heart hurt, feeling as if someone had stabbed him straight through with poison, and his lungs were beginning to feel as if they had been scooped out and holes had been poked through them before being put back.

Half the time he couldn't even find the strength to raise his eyes from the floor…

* * *

" _It's a painful compromise,_ " Atem had said softly, frowning at him thoughtfully as if he hoped for the best and knew it wouldn't happen. " _You get the love and affection, never wavering and never broken, but it comes with such strings that it almost doesn't seem fair. So much guaranteed pain and so many sacrifices forced on you_ …"

Yami shook the scattered memory off, glancing at his shoulder and not bothering to change it yet; he would do that in an hour, when he could actually stomach the idea of the pus and blood and overall infection that would greet him.

He got to his feet and then froze, stiffening and narrowing his eyes as his senses grew alarmed and his body throbbed with pain and apprehension. The Puzzle flashed like fire against his stomach before freezing like a block of ice before repeating twice.

Someone was in the house.

Yami looked towards the mirror for a moment and debated breaking it to take a shard but then remembered the pocketknife he already had in his nightstand, digging through and grabbing it. He didn't think it was someone dangerous now that he was in the hallway and could smell pizza; probably one of his cousins since he had thrown them all out the day that Yugi had visited, going off and all but threatening to carve their bodies hollow when he couldn't stand to have them near him.

A whole two weeks and he had not seen any of them; it had been the most ill-received blessing he had ever experienced, a curse that left him shaken and broken for days before he had managed to draw some kind of strained strength to move around again. His mind had never stopped and because of that, things had merely fractured further in his miserable state…

Yami narrowed his eyes into slits as soon as he spotted him in the kitchen. "You are attempting to bribe me into a show of affection with a pizza," he deadpanned softly, his voice deceptively amused.

"Yes. And if you refuse you will get _none_ of it," Seto stated smugly.

The red eyes widened for a split second, eyeing the box for a moment before looking at the brunet. "Okay, let me really think this over," he murmured, blinking a couple of times and tilting his head. " _Forgive_ you for your little opinions about how pathetic I am to love him, how much trouble I've caused, how you _sincerely wish_ I did not exist and that you agree with my father about disowning me…over a box of pizza. Yeah…Get the fuck out of my house."

"Yami, you _know_ I didn't—"

"Get out."

Seto shoved the pizza onto the table without a glance. "Goddamnn it, Yami. Get. _Over_. It. I was pissed. I said it but I didn't mean it. We _all_ say things we _don't mean_ when we're mad."

"No, Seto, see that's where you're _wrong_." He glanced at the pizza dismissively and met his cousin's frustrated expression with a deadly calm look. "Here's the thing. When you're actually mad is when the truth generally slips out. I always knew there was something about the way you picked at me that was completely off. See, I've come to a few realizations recently. And one of them includes something about us. And it's this. I am your favorite because you see a lot more of you in me than you do Malik and Bakura. It's the thing you like about me but you hate it more than anything else as well. I was always _wondering_ when you would snap and you finally did last month. I can't say I'm surprised either."

"God—"

"Yugi was _always_ going to be that breaking point between us," Yami continued without a pause, failing to alter the volume of his voice. "I recognized that the moment I mentioned it at the hospital though it was subtle enough that I didn't feel the need to fight you on it. All throughout the time that Arkana and Pegasus threatened me, you were enticed by the challenge of outsmarting them so you didn't really care to try to force your opinion down my throat more than that day out on the porch."

"That—"

"But we both knew that wouldn't last forever and I've always been waiting, wondering when it would finally happen," he commented casually, pausing and looking the brunet over for a moment. "And here's the other thing, Seto. I stopped before I could say my piece, not to spare your feelings but to do so with Mokuba's. Rest assured that I don't hate you but if you talk down at me again or draw Yugi into this like that, I'll _gladly_ cut you out like you said before. I won't threaten you past that because I already punched you and I don't really feel the need to go further because I still care but honestly, when it comes down to it, you make me choose and it's going to be Yugi. It's not a question and you're foolish to think it is."

"Yami—" he hissed from between his teeth, glaring slightly.

"Oh, no, no, _no_ , Seto, you misunderstand. This isn't going to turn into a conversation. I am tired and will not indulge you in one so that you can attempt to convince me that you didn't _mean_ what you said. That is not going to happen right now. What _will_ happen is you are going to take that disgusting pizza and get the fuck out of my house. _That_ is what will happen now, _understood_?"

The brunet let out a deep huff and nodded curtly. "Very well."

Yami watched him snatch the box but didn't bother to see him go.

He was kind of curious about how the hell Seto had gotten inside in the first place but that was a no-brainer after he remembered he had forgotten to lock it earlier after he had gone to make sure that Yugi hadn't gotten hurt or done anything stupid. The good thing was, that as expected, Yugi had been in the shop talking to his grandpa—though he did look furious or miserable each time he had seen him—or a customer.

He shook the idea off and went about opening the door at the knock that sounded, knowing instinctively that it wasn't Yugi simply because that feeling of being whole or warm inside didn't come with his approaching it. The moment he opened it enough, the blond walked straight in, past him with a long hum before asking, "So, what's up?"

"Nothing," he murmured a little coldly, surprised by his own tone as he walked past him and further into the house. "What are you doing here, Malik?"

"Checking up on you. I just got off the phone with our dear cousin Seto and—"

"Are you going to lecture me too?" Yami snarled, spinning on him with such fierce eyes that he stepped back in surprise. "Are you going to do the same as them and shove your opinion down my throat and hope I fucking choke on it?"

Malik blinked and scowled at him, rolling his eyes at his bristling cousin and wandering around him into the living room. "No. Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because that's all Bakura and Seto have been doing. It's not a common thing when the three of you aren't in agreement about a 'problem'," Yami spat.

"It's not my business to tell you what the hell to do," the blond snorted, rolling his eyes again and heading for the living room. "It's my business that you take your meds, that you do some breathing exercises and don't die on me, but past that it's your choice what you do."

The red-eyed teen stayed quiet for a moment and then looked down at the floor, breath coming out in a wheeze now that some of the adrenaline that had coursed through his veins with the thought of confrontation was subsiding easily. "Seto hates me. Bakura is so mad about me taking Yugi's side over it all that he won't even look me in the eye," he commented, voice taking on a bitter but somewhat laughing tone.

"Hates you?" Malik echoed, turning around and studying him as he nodded and laughed slightly, raising his head to look at him. "What do you mean he _hates_ you?"

"I mean that he told me that I'm a pathetic worthless little shit that he hates being related to," Yami stated. "And then he spat that he hates me. Because I am only trouble and I'm ruining him."

"Seto's a melodramatic pussy," the blond snorted, rolling his eyes. "He always has been, he always _will_ be. You know that, I know that, hell even fucking _Mokuba_ knows that."

"You don't understand, Malik. I've been _waiting_ for him to say that."

The taller boy froze and tilted his head slightly, blinking before narrowing his eyes. "Waiting for him to say that?"

"Yes. I've been waiting two years for him to finally say it. He's always hated me, don't you get that? Or are you as blind as Bakura?"

"I don't like to get involved with family spats," Malik stated, shaking his head. "I don't believe he hates you. Why would he? You just pissed him off."

"No, Malik," Yami sighed, reaching up and rubbing at his temples for a moment with a hiss of pain. "No, you don't understand. He's always hated me and I've always known it. I've been waiting, hoping for him to say it because that would make things so much easier. At least then he would admit it and then I could just ignore it some more."

"So? What's different? You can't ignore it now? You got what you wanted. Why aren't you happy with it?"

"That's where you're wrong. See, I _am_ happy with it. But that's the problem."

"What?" Malik rolled his eyes and shook his head. "God, you fuckers are all complicated. Why you can't just be simple is beyond me."

Yami spared him a small laugh. "The problem is that Seto hates me for the same reason that I can even stand him," he commented, frowning now and tilting his head. "We…we share traits between us, and that makes us see each other in the other. He seems himself in me and I see myself in him. And I'm so happy that he finally came out with it and said he hates me because half the time I think I hate him so much I can't stand him…and that's it. That's the biggest problem I think I have."

The blond stared at him and then sighed, shaking his head and looking away to bite his lip. "You hate yourself. Is that what you're telling me?"

"Yes!" Yami agreed immediately, nodding and laughing harshly. "I fucking hate myself. I hate a part of me. I can't…I don't know how to fix that. I don't know if it's worth trying to fix!"

Malik took in the white paint of the wall and tried to think of something to say, coming up short and shaking his head slightly, as if trying to make Yami speak some more to fill in the space between them. He couldn't really grasp what Yami was saying at the moment. It felt fragmented and awkward and the statement just made his ears ring.

His cousin turned away from him and he could hear his soft footfalls starting towards him, veering off at the last second to step around him, the red-eyed teen wandering into the kitchen to grab a pot and fill it with water.

"What…what part of you is it that you hate? I mean, what's the…?" he finally asked, clearing his throat awkwardly as he wandered into the kitchen and leaned against the counter adjacent to him, watching him as he tested the water with his fingers and dumped the pot out. Vaguely he remembered Ryou saying that he needed to use peppers and garlic in boiling water, make Yami breathe in the steam because it would help lessen some of the pressure in his airways, but it seemed so strange at the moment with the conversation they were having that he almost took it as offensive to even have that thought floating around in his head.

"I think it's multiple things, actually," Yami stated, testing the water again. "I think I hate multiple aspects of myself…but Seto is practically the manifestation of the most prominent."

"Jesus…"

"You know the things that Seto and I share between us. Pride, the inability to back down from a challenge no matter how stupid…" He paused. "But if I really look, I think I hate the part where I'm too smart for my own good. I hate my intelligence. I hate my silence. I hate my introverted nature. And that…isn't that like hating your core being? If you hate your nature, your personality? Isn't that exactly just like hating yourself fully?"

Malik chewed his cheek. "I guess so," he muttered. "But there has to be something that you like about yourself, right? I mean, otherwise…"

"I'm too much of a coward for that," he laughed. "I couldn't kill myself because I'm not brave enough to bring a knife into my skin. I'm not brave enough to leap underwater and sink to the bottom. I don't have that strength. I have the strength to survive but I don't have the strength to die by my own hand."

He shuddered and shook his head, looking down and glancing over the powders in front of him; chili, garlic, black pepper, red pepper, cinnamon. He grinned at the last one; he loved cinnamon…

Yami glanced at him for a moment, studying what he was looking at, and a small grin appeared on his face as he turned away again and ran his fingers under the water; the heat lashed out at him and he jerked his fingers away, baring his teeth for a moment before smacking the faucet with the heel of his palm. The pain that laced through his nerves for that split second of contact made him hiss but he ignored it again immediately.

"See, that's something else I've realized, Malik." He leaned against the edge of the sink, leaning against the cold metal and welcoming the relief it brought to his stinging skin. "I don't think there _is_ a part of me that I actually like. There's one…one tiny little thing but I don't understand it and it troubles me."

"What?" he asked immediately, looking up and propping his elbow on the counter, looking at the pot and then his cousin who was staring at it as it swirled inside the metal container.

"I can't figure out why Yugi loves me," he stated suddenly, pulling away from the sink and rocking back and forth on his feet for a second before turning to him. "I, um…my shoulder…"

"Yeah, I got it. Just tell me when it's full." Malik had already known before Ryou or Bakura said anything that Yami wasn't entirely up to par. He was still constantly tired and fatigued and sometimes he pushed too hard and he was pretty sure he'd reopened his side too but he wasn't one hundred percent so he hadn't asked. He didn't want the others leaping down Yami's throat about something else…

Yami nodded and looked at the pot again. "Thank you."

"You're my cousin. You don't have to thank me for stupid shit."

He grinned and nodded slightly. "Either way."

The blond waved dismissively. "So, what the hell does Yugi loving you have to do with anything?" he asked. "Please tell me it isn't the homosexual thing."

Yami shook his head. "I think that might be a small bit of something that I'm relatively okay with. I don't hate myself for that. Or at least, I don't think I do anyways…" He paused and gave Malik a miserable look. "The thing is, I don't understand what Yugi sees in me to make him love me. I hate myself and he insists there's something worth giving a shit about. He almost died for me when he came into the damn warehouse and I have no fucking idea what made him do it."

He flinched and fought his impulse to recoil and look away, instead chewing his cheek and trying to figure out something to say. There had to be something he could say to help him, right? Or maybe not _help_ or even feel better, but just enough to reassure him that he was still okay…

He searched for a minute, staring and watching the way that Yami's eyes pleaded with him to say something, anything really, but nothing came to mind and he finally turned away, attention shooting to the cinnamon on the counter again. For a moment the red gaze was still burning into his skin and then it was slowly dragged away and he could hear the knob being turned.

"I'm sure there has to be something that would make him love you that much, right?" he muttered, unsure of what else to say and moving to grab the pot, not at all oblivious to the way that Yami stepped back a few feet and didn't look up at him as he moved past him and turned on the stove. Malik cringed when he realized the statement he had just made, mouth falling open as he turned his head and stared at his cousin; fucking hell… "I—fuck, I mean—god…"

"No, no, I get it. We aren't exactly the closest cousins in the world," Yami stated, shaking his head but not looking up, eyes instead wandering to the fridge in front of him. "It's not a surprise. I knew that about us. Don't apologize for it. I swear I'll punch you if you do."

Malik opened his mouth to argue but immediately stopped himself again, shaking his head because he didn't know what else to do. It wasn't right and the statement was completely wrong, but he couldn't find a way to fix it…

"See, that's the thing though. I'm kind of glad you said that because I can't figure out anything. I try and I try and I've spent two whole days just trying to puzzle it out, find a single speck of something good to grasp at and hold and like about myself and there is _nothing_. I have _nothing_ to show for my efforts. I have nothing to see and hold and make myself feel better."

He shook his head and looked away. "Yami, I don't understand where this suddenly came from," he admitted, shaking his head again and refusing to look at him. "You've never been like this before."

"No, Malik, that's not…it's _not_ sudden," Yami muttered, shaking his head. "I've always hated myself. I just think I never realized it fully. I think the only difference between then and now is the simple fact that now I'm beginning to realize _why_. I'm starting to see the things that I despise and I'm actually taking note of it. That's the only thing that's changed."

The blond bit his lip until it bled.

"I g _rew up_ hating myself. I just never questioned it because it was constant. I've never questioned it before now. And the only reason I'm even questioning it is because I don't understand what the hell makes Yugi love me. I don't understand it and I hate it and I can't…I don't know how to cope with that…"

Malik honestly didn't know what he was supposed to say to this, instead looking down at the counter and shaking his head. What the fuck did you say to someone who was hurting, hated themselves, didn't understand why someone loved them, and couldn't grasp the reason behind it?

"I'm sorry."

"What?" he asked immediately, head snapping up to find that Yami was staring at him with an apologetic expression. "What the fuck are you sorry about?"

"Telling you this. I don't know why I…"

"Don't apologize for that," Malik snapped, feeling slightly panicked and cornered now that the other boy was attempting to offer him a way out. "You told me because you thought I wouldn't care."

Yami blinked and tilted his head, lips curving up slightly. "Is that it? Is that why?" he asked quietly, voice so soft that it dropped and seemed to hit the floor. "Because I assumed you wouldn't care? I suppose so."

"Fucking Christ," the blond hissed. "That's not what I meant to say. I…Fuck."

The red-eyed teen shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Just—"

"Fuck you, Yami," he spat. "You can't just say that and then expect me to just fucking be fine with it. I don't… _shit_."

Yami shrugged and wiped at his nose a little, sniffling and wondering where he had put the paper towels; he really needed those right about now…

He wiped his nose again and sniffed loudly, trying to draw attention to the fact that he needed to blow his nose, and Malik took a second, staring at him and then blinking before looking around for them with a small grunt of frustration. He came over with a wad of them and Yami stole a couple as the blond started to look slightly upset.

"Thanks," he mumbled, rolling his eyes at himself when the blond glared at him and then looked at the water.

"Didn't the doctors say that you could actually _eat_ stuffed peppers and it would help you some with the congestion or something?"

"I hate stuffed peppers," Yami complained immediately, wiping his nose again and sniffling loudly as he glanced at him. "They remind me of home."

"And your runny nose makes me think that you're bleeding to death," Malik sniped. "Eat a damn pepper."

The red-eyed teen snickered and shook his head, blowing his nose again while the blond leaned against the counter and glanced at the water, slightly annoyed but mostly shaken by the fact that Yami had even told him this…

"I told you because at least you're real. You don't understand how to console me, and I needed someone who wouldn't try to dig their fingers into me and pry and attempt at making me feel better, try to make me _feel_ as if there was something good about me. That is why I decided to tell you." Yami stayed quiet for a moment and then offered him a smile that made Malik flinch, shocked. "You aren't like Seto who would snap at me and tell me how stupid and weak I am. You aren't like Bakura who would start trying to point out something good. You aren't like Mokuba who would list every single thing he thinks he sees in me. And you aren't Ryou who would try to make me feel better. You don't know to act around me and the problem is shared with me. But the fact of the matter is that's the disconnection that I needed. It hasn't helped me aside from getting it off my chest and I don't feel better at all, but I needed you and you stuck through it without trying to force your opinion on me. You're what I needed. That's why I chose to tell you."

Malik's head spun for a moment and his entire body remained in its rigid stance, unable to move as he stared at him and felt sick to his stomach. "Yami…"

The other teen shrugged and gestured. "It's fine. I'm okay. I will _be_ okay. I promise it's okay, Malik. Trust me for once."

He shook his head and backed away a step before realizing his movement and forcing himself forward again. "Fucking hell, Yami."

He shrugged dismissively and turned back to the pot for a moment before putting the lid back on; he didn't want to breathe in more. "If I had had to suffer through the others knowing about this, I would have felt the need to put on a show and make them believe me. I don't have to do that with you."

"Yami, I…fuck…"

"Look, Malik, the point is that I don't mind that we're not completely okay with each other or that things get fucked up between us or anything like that. I needed you for that reason. You're also the only one on my side about this entire thing. If I didn't have you at this point I think I would lose my mind, so thank you. And stop freaking the fuck out, would you?" Yami snapped, cutting him off when he started to open his mouth again. "I don't even care if you tell the others. I really don't. Just let me be there when you do. Otherwise all of them will be upset unnecessarily and I don't care for it."

The blond blinked and shook his head slowly. "I'm not going to tell anyone about…this."

He nodded slightly. "I didn't think you would," he admitted quietly.

* * *

"You can't just—"

Seto looked up as the door was thrown open, eyes widening as he took in Yami's disgruntled form.

"I—Oh god," his secretary whispered, spinning around and fleeing.

"Must you bleed everywhere?" he sighed in exasperation, shaking his head.

Yami looked at his shoulder for a long minute and then turned away again. "Did you _know_ about this?" he snapped, dismissing his wound and pushing the newspaper towards him.

He didn't look at it. "Yes."

"And you didn't think to _tell_ me?"

"You weren't speaking to me."

Yami narrowed is eyes, voice dropping drastically in his anger. "Really, Seto? You choose to use _that_ as your excuse?"

"Tell me what I would have _said_ , Yami. You sure as fuck wouldn't have listened if I so much as _said_ Yugi's name."

He looked ready to punch him again and Seto leaned back in his seat, drumming his fingers against the plastic armrest and watching him as he sorted through the information in his head.

"How long has this ad been running?"

"Two weeks."

Yami was going to vomit. "Two _weeks_?"

"Yes." His eyes widened. "Shit, sit down—"

"Two weeks. Two…H—how do these kinds of things work? I—I…"

"If you're asking about how much they'll get, probably not enough to survive as long as it takes for either of them to find new jobs _especially_ after they bought a new place," he muttered dismissively, staring at his shoulder thoughtfully and wondering vaguely if he should send for the first-aid kit; he shot a cold look at the secretary and guard who was patiently trying to explain that Yami was his cousin. Gods, this girl was like a startled bird. He was definitely going to have to get rid of her.

"Do you know who has already offered or…?"

"Duke's father. He has actually made a point of scaring off other potential buyers and he is offering only two thousand and refuses to raise the amount. Solomon's a stubborn old goat. He is trying to wait it out—"

"Duke was in on this scheme with Pegasus because of that dice game, right?"

"Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"Do you think you could make a profit out of it?"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "I don't have—"

"If I could _get_ you the rights, do you think you could make a profit out of it?"

"…Yes…" He paused. "But I don't see how you could—"

"You'll see."

Seto opened his mouth to respond but Yami was already running off again; he shook his head and sighed, putting his elbows on the desk. Two weeks and three days and that was the little bit of conversation he got out of him.

* * *

"Yami?" Solomon asked, all but gaping at him; he was winded, his shoulder was awkwardly raised, his entire body was heaving, his eyes were glittering feverishly, and he looked half-dead for a moment before slipping past him and inside the shop. He stared in confusion, for a moment unsure of how to even close the door. "What…? Yugi is—"

"I'm not here for Yugi," he cut in immediately, voice low and soft as he cast a glance at the stairs for a split second. "I came here…to speak to you."

"Me?"

"About the game shop."

Solomon blinked slowly. " _You_ want to buy the game shop?"

Yami opened his mouth once and then slowly shut it again, realizing he had just fallen into somewhat dangerous territory. He came to the conclusion of how bad an idea this was only now; if he bought the shop, that would almost be like staking a claim on a massive part of Yugi's life. He would _almost_ be able to say that he _owned_ Yugi if he did so.

"No," he finally breathed out, shaking his head with a regretful expression.

"Then what are you doing here? It's past three in the morning and—"

"I know, I know. And I apologize for the late hour. I just…You can't settle yet."

Solomon shook his head. "I have bills to pay and I'm running out of money—"

"Yes, I realize that," he interjected quickly.

"No, see Yami, I don't think you do," the elderly Motou said, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes, expression sad but sharp. "I have a week to come up with money I _don't_ have anymore."

"Five days, Solomon. I need only five."

"Oh well as long as you don't need those last two—"

" _Listen to me_ ," the red-eyed teen snapped, breathing in harshly and slowly shaking his head to help rein in his temper. "Five days. You won't _have_ to sell the shop. You and Yugi _won't_ go homeless."

The elderly Motou stared at him for a few long seconds, sighing. "All right. Come upstairs. I want to bandage that shoulder of yours."

Yami cast his shoulder a self-conscious look and resisted the urge to prod at it, instead following him upstairs after the door was locked; he couldn't help it when he glanced at Yugi's bedroom door for a moment, wondering in a scattered half-thought whether he was asleep and if he had nightmares like him, if the Puzzle really _was_ leaving him alone.

His stomach twisted and his heart constricted for a moment before he turned to follow the blue-violet-eyed teen boy's grandfather into the kitchen.

"Your first-aid kit…is in the kitchen?" he muttered, somewhat confused but mostly curious.

Solomon chuckled, opening the box and sifting through to grab some gauze, a pack of antiseptic wipes and some medical tape. "Oh, we have them scattered all around the house," he murmured, gesturing him over. "You _do_ realize you're going to have to take that jacket and shirt off, right?"

"Hmm? Yes, I do," he stated, glancing off in the direction of the other boy's room and turning away again; he hesitated for a moment, studying him as he gave him a somewhat impatient gesture with the supplies in his hand.

"What? Do you have stage fright or something?"

Yami shook his head after a moment. "It's just that it's past three and I woke you like this and throwing this into the mix as well seems rather selfish, if nothing else," he muttered softly, glancing at the hallway again to make sure he hadn't woken the other boy. "I don't want to keep you awake longer than necessary."

"Tell me something, Yami."

He tilted his head.

"Can you do it yourself?"

Yami didn't even have to think about it. "No," he admitted quietly. "I cannot."

"Then get your skinny overly-polite ass in this seat and let me do this."

The tone was playful but held an underlying sharpness that made his skin crawl; he hurried over to the seat that Solomon pointed to and took residence there, chewing his cheek as he unconsciously rubbed the fabric of his shirt over the bloodied flesh. He didn't wince, instead pulling the jacket off and pulling it in his lap, following up with the t-shit that covered his tank top.

"Layer much?" Solomon commented with a chuckle, leaning forward and staring at the wound, the completely red-soaked gauze and tape that covered it. "Oh geez."

Yami glanced at it. "I'm kind of anemic so there's probably a lot more blood than is actually…you know…normal."

"With this amount of blood I'm starting to question how you aren't dead yet."

"I don't think it's…you know, as much as it appears," he commented quietly. "Looks worse than it is, all of that."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not as much as you would think. It stings but past that not so much."

He nodded slightly and smirked a little before reaching out to pull the sleeve of his tank top down to his upper arm, taking one of the wipes and undoing the packaging; Yami allowed him to put the antiseptic aside and go about working on stripping his wound of its soiled dressing.

"You should start talking. Yugi tends to have a habit of getting up in the middle of the night and wandering the house."

"He doesn't sleep well?"

"Would you?" Solomon retorted, voice taking on a sharp note. "He saved a loved one who shows his gratitude by avoiding him and goes as far as to forego school altogether. He's honestly all _but_ depressed. He's miserable but he's still got that little mask that he wears so he _seems_ okay. When _that_ goes away completely, _then_ I'm going to really kick your ass, Yami Atem Sennen."

Yami stayed silent for a moment. "As you should." He paused, unsure of what to say for a long minute, glancing at his shoulder as Solomon ran the wipe over the bloodied skin; he was slightly surprised that he did flinch at the sight of it. "I _did_ originally come here to offer you some money. Fifty million dollars, in fact, but that wouldn't really do very much. I don't want to buy the shop and just giving you the money made me think that you might try to pay me back, which is not something either of us needs."

Solomon nodded almost absentmindedly, looking at the blood and shaking his head. "You realize this is infected?"

"Yes. I have antibiotics that I'll take when I get home."

"How many times have you reopened it?"

"Twice? Yes, twice."

The elderly Motou studied his face. "And it doesn't hurt?"

"Not enough for me to worry."

He shook his head after a moment, making a sharp noise of disapproval in the back of this throat.

* * *

"You're stuck with me today," Ryou announced, stepping inside and closing the door behind him as the red-eyed teen frowned slightly but nodded. "Bakura and Malik are busy with detention and of course you're fighting with Seto. And besides that, I _am_ studying to become a doctor so it makes sense for them to send me, huh?"

Yami's frown became more deeply pronounced, clicking the lock on the door and turning around to face him completely. "Ryou, it is not that I am ungrateful for you helping me. Never think that," he stated softly, making the brown-eyed teen's eyes widen in surprise. "I appreciate it. Greatly. I am not one of those people who make instant friends and I honestly prefer to be alone more than I do with others. So don't mistake trepidation on my part as not appreciating your help."

Ryou laughed and shook his head. "Not a problem, Yami," he said with a simple wink. "I just figured you were thinking more about Yugi than you were interested with visitors."

The red-eyed teen looked away after a moment, chewing his cheek and sighing softly. "…How is he anyways? Bakura and Malik aren't the most forthcoming with information about him."

"They don't like him?"

"No. They blame a few things on him that they shouldn't," he stated quietly, looking at him through his lashes. "But I want to know about him even if I can't bring myself to face him. Tell me about him. I have to know."

Ryou flinched at the despairing look to those deep red eyes, the way that they burned into him and left him feeling weak and vulnerable, reaching in such depths that he felt it was almost tangible in the air between them. "He's…hurting," he finally muttered, wincing when Yami flinched as if he had just struck him. "Badly. He's a mess. I don't think I've seen him make a straight week at school since you got out. I overheard a couple of teachers talking about how he might just flunk out this year and have to repeat it."

"Stupid boy," the red-eyed teen muttered, shaking his head and staring at the ground guiltily, rubbing his forehead and sighing softly. "He's wasting himself."

"You would do the same though," he argued quietly. "You can't even argue that you wouldn't."

Yami looked at him for a long moment, staring into his eyes and searching his entire face, reaching out and touching his chin, cupping it and narrowing his gaze to stare at him through his lashes; Ryou's entire face turned bright red but he didn't pull away, instead swallowing hard under his touch and frowning slightly.

He supposed it was so simple for him to come into the house to help him with this, to gain experience for his medical career ahead of time, to try to point out the obvious and judge what he figured was common sense between the two of them.

But he didn't know the extent of it, the way that Yami was doing this for Yugi's sake, the fact that this killed him and his heart ached so violently that at one point he had thought he was having a heart attack in the middle of the night. He didn't know about nightmares about Yugi dying, dreams about him turning his back on him without a single glance and walking away without even acknowledging him no matter how loud he called out for him. He didn't know the pain of trying to protect someone when it meant the absolute desolation of his own soul.

Yami released him easily and Ryou's face stayed that bright shade of red, flustered. "You don't understand," he stated softly, walking around him and starting towards the stairs. "And I do not wish to explain it to you. But allow me to say that you are right. In his place, I would be doing the same thing."

_In fact, I already_ am.

The albino stared after him as if he were insane for a moment, breathing a little too hard for his own comfort, and shivered; what the hell was that?

"You know…Yugi saved my life once…before the fire," Yami commented suddenly, turning to face him from where he was standing in front of the stairs; the cold smile on his lips made Ryou shiver in alarm but it seemed easy enough a statement that he couldn't ignore it.

"Really?"

"Bakura didn't tell you about it?"

"He…doesn't really talk about anything that concerns you or…really anyone," he commented a little too quietly; Yami's head snapped up, regarding him with glittering spheres of red ice. "I mean…I don't…We're not best friends or anything. We're not even really friends. I think he just talks to me to keep me coming over here to take care of you."

"Would you stop if he didn't speak to you?"

"No. It would go against my nature," Ryou stated with a shrug. "I never turn my back on someone who needs me."

"And if I was okay and didn't need you anymore?"

"Did you make a quick recovery on me all of the sudden?"

"No, but you're avoiding the question."

"What would be the point of sticking around after that? You would be perfectly fine again. I don't really understand the point of this questioning."

Yami studied his face for a long minute and then turned away and headed up the stairs; Ryou shifted his weight awkwardly and then followed, finding himself stepping into Yami's room with a small bit of confusion and trepidation. Where had he wandered off to and what exactly was he searching for as it was? Was it something to do with him? Or was it something completely different?

Ryou's skin crawled for a second, fearful for a moment before he shook it off and wandered further inside. Yami came around from the corner, staring at him with a raised brow and his head tilted to the side.

"Are you suddenly afraid of me?" he commented, narrowing his eyes and smirking with a gleam to his gaze that made him uneasy. "You must be. You look almost as if you might be shaking."

"I'm not afraid of you," he stated simply, rolling his eyes. "I just didn't know where you were."

"And yet you've been in the room a full minute and never once thought to come further than halfway through the doorframe."

"Huh?"

Yami pointed at one of the mirrors on the wall. "I could see your reflection, Ryou. You're a horrible liar," he commented, chuckling.

"Oh…" He glanced at the mirror and took in the sight of the glass in front of it, realizing slowly that the other teen had placed them strategically to give him a view of anyone in the doorway of his room. But now that he really looked at them, he realized that he had stood just out of view of that mirror, in its single little blind spot…

"Well? What is it that we're going to be doing today?" he asked, heading for the bed and turning off to the left at the last second, wandering over to his phone. The look on his face turned solemn for a moment before he put the phone back again.

"Does he text you a lot?"

Yami ground his teeth together, annoyed that he'd let himself slip even just enough to show that little amount of sorrow. "Every day," he admitted, pressing the lock button and pushing it away from him with a dismissive gesture. "What are we doing today?"

"You're going to want to lie face down on the edge of your bed with the top half of your body—from the waist up—hanging over the edge, so that you form a kind of…right angle," Ryou instructed. "And you're going to be like that for about ten to fifteen minutes."

Yami tilted his head in confusion, looking at him and then the bed again, frowning as he tried to picture that and failed a little miserably. "Why…?"

"I know this is going to sound silly, but here's the thing, Yami. You do that and then I'm going to lightly pound your back." Ryou laughed at his disbelieving expression. "It will help loosen and break up some of the secretions in your lungs and help you cough them up."

The other teen stared at him for the longest of minutes and then sighed loudly, rolling his eyes before settling on the bed and stretching himself out, frowning as he turned his head and looked at him. The albino laughed and gestured and Yami huffed softly as he scooted forward and threw his upper body over the edge, uncomfortable with the way that he settled. What the hell kind of plan was this?

"God, you act like I'm going to jump you. Relax," Ryou snorted, rolling his eyes and going to take a seat on the end of the bed, straddling the corner and watching him with a raised brow. "Are you always this weird?"

"Tell me something, Ryou," Yami said, ignoring his teasing and looking at him curiously, head turned but still completely upside down, eyes dark as he studied him. "If you had helped a patient and they were completely healed, would you bother with remaining a friend or would it just be a farce to help them and keep them calm?"

The albino frowned and furrowed his brows, tilting his head in confusion before chewing his cheek subconsciously. "I…Well, I don't think that you're supposed to have relations with your patients after they've been checked out. But I would wonder, of course…"

"So, you're saying that as soon as they are perfectly well again, they are not in your life anymore."

"I…I don't know. If they were family friends or—"

"Leave family out of it. Tell me without thought just what exactly it is that your answer would be."

Ryou opened and closed his mouth. "It's not really a fair question though, Yami…I don't…"

"It's not meant to be fair. It's just a question. There's no judgment or trick to it."

He frowned and shook his head, sitting back and thinking hard about it. "I don't understand why you're asking."

"Then you don't understand the situation," Yami stated calmly. "Which means that you have no right to make judgment. Which also means that you should not speak of things you don't understand. So, in other words, my and Yugi's situation…is just that. Mine and Yugi's. It has nothing to do with you and nothing to do with my cousins."

"I was just trying to help…"

"I know that. I don't blame you for asking or stating the obvious. I just think that it's better that you don't try to do so anymore," he commented quietly, closing his eyes for a moment. "My head is starting to feel funny. How long do I have to stay like this?"

Ryou glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Another five minutes. But if you don't think you can, then we—"

"No, no, I can, I just…Never mind." He stayed quiet the next five minutes and huffed in annoyance when Ryou started to pound on his back gently, coughing and growing frustrated with the sensation. "Stop, stop! Fucking—this is not working."

"Okay, okay," the albino murmured, frowning and pulling away some. "Hmm…it works for—"

He fell immediately silent again, stiffening drastically when the teen reached up and caught him by his shirt, pulling the material tightly and bringing himself upright some, knees drawn up. Ryou stared at him with wide chocolate brown eyes and Yami breathed hard as he tried to regain some of his balance once more.

"Relax," Yami chuckled, rolling his eyes and pulling his hand away when he saw the way the albino was watching him so closely with such a startled look. "I just needed to steady myself. You act like I'm about to jump your bones at any second."

Ryou grimaced slightly. "Yeah, well…"

"Oh please, I'm not interested in you," he snorted, laughing loudly for a moment and grabbing his chin, shaking his head. "I have never been interested in you and I never will be, Ryou."

"Oh thank god."

Yami gave a wily smile and winked, getting to his feet.

"…Have you ever thought about it though?"

He stayed quiet for a long five minutes before finally turning around to regard him, leaning against the chest of drawers and tilting his head slowly. "I would be lying if I said I have not at least _attempted_ to entertain the thought of being with someone else," he admitted, the left side of his mouth tugging downwards for a moment. "But when I say attempted, it means that it always ends the same. And it's Yugi who ends up in my thoughts before the real formation of anything I can actually acknowledge."

Ryou stayed quiet for a long time. "So you wouldn't do it?"

"I would be cheating myself. And Yugi," he commented with a smirk. "Why do that?"

"Aren't you cheating yourself and him right now?"

"…Have you ever heard of something called a soul catcher?"

"I…a soul catcher? No, what's that?"

"It's…not a very common phrase, in all actuality," Yami stated, drumming his fingers against the wood and tipping his head up with a sigh. "I am not the least bit surprised that you do not know of it. It's…actually something that I had never heard of before a few nights ago."

"How did you run across it?"

"It was…actually in a dream. Stupid, I know, but I think it's foolish to ignore things that happen in your dreams. Some of them are ridiculous but others…are very important."

Ryou searched his face. "So this was an important one?"

Yami chuckled darkly. "Life changing, I would say." He paused. "A soul catcher, according to the dream that I had, is another word for a soul mate…but it's…more intense."

"Yeah?"

"It's something like…having your soul taken from you. Hence the catcher part of the term. It's…like when a soul mate grows so attached to you that you both bleed at the seams and tear each other apart. It's problematic and dangerous and so cruel and beautiful all at once. It's like they break down each of your walls but help to build them stronger because they exist with you." Yami played with the Puzzle around his neck, cupping the bottom and slowly raising it to look it over, studying the golden pieces and smiling sadly. "It's a violent little relationship. It takes work and it could kill you if you aren't careful with how you go about it. A soul catcher is a state of being and a person in your life who exists to make you happy but challenge you, make you better, kill you and bring you to life again."

"Is that what Yugi is to you?"

He chuckled softly and tilted his head. "He killed me and brought me to life again a while back," he commented, straightening. "But I don't know if that's what we are when it comes down to it. I feel like I'm cheating myself constantly when I refuse his presence but I'm selfish by nature. I take and take and never give, or so I've been told anyways. I haven't been able to kill him and bring him back. I don't think I know how and so I don't think that's what we will ever be. Maybe it's a karmic soul mate bond rather than a soul catcher…"

"A karmic soul mate bond?"

"They come into your life for a short period of time, help tear down your defenses and make you better but they don't remain forever. They come, they do what they need to, and then they leave."

"If that's what you guys were, do you really think you wouldn't be able to move on and you know…mess around with someone else?"

Yami tilted his head. "That's the scary thing. I don't know. I don't think so. But I'm not sure. And the problem—the true problem—is that I am actually concerned that maybe this is some kind of twisted relationship. That maybe he's my soul catcher but I'm not his."

"Can that even happen?"

"Probably. With my luck, sure, why the fuck not?"

"Yami—"

"Why the hell am I even talking to you about this?" he wondered suddenly, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "Why am I talking to an asexual about my love life?"

Ryou recoiled with wide eyes, startled out of his mind by the comment. "How did you even…?"

"Does it matter how I know these things?" he cut him off, reaching up and rubbing at his forehead for a moment. "I don't think it does. I hardly see it concerning enough to hold merit at this point. Let's leave it at me being observant, shall we?"

"You…you're actually going to just leave it at that?"

Yami tilted his head and leveled him a small glare. "Yes. Why not?"

"But…How the hell do even know that? I don't understand."

"It doesn't matter, Ryou," he scoffed, turning away again. "Just know that I don't care to truly think about it. I just don't know why I told you what I just did when I have no real need to do so."

"…It's homoromantic asexual."

"Hmm?"

"My orientation. It's homoromantic asexual."

Yami studied him as if he were a new species altogether, eyes widening as he searched his face. "Is it really?"

"Why is that so interesting?"

The red-eyed teen blinked once and then slowly shook his head, turning away. "It's just something that Mokuba said to me a while back. He thought that maybe I was a homoromantic asexual. He doesn't know about soul catchers. It's an awkward little thing, isn't it? Such a violent relationship and yet you crave it as if it will save you from everything that hurts you. When it is the very thing that hurts the most…" He shook his head again and turned to him, straightening and starting towards the window. "I think it's cute and horrifying. Morbid, right? I kind of think that love is supposed to be a little morbid or it isn't real. Is that wrong of me? That whitewashed love doesn't appeal to me? That I like the violence and the cold shoulders and the hatred?"

Ryou shook his head slowly. "I think it's just different desires—"

"I don't desire anything different from you, however. You misunderstand the statement which is exactly why I should never have brought this up in the first place. I mean to say that this entire thing, the soul catcher deal is not the least bit different from what everyone else seeks. A love that will last despite conflicts that come with it."

* * *

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Seto snarled as he looked the red-eyed teen over as he started munching on the chicken tenders in front of him and appeared almost ready to ignore him for a moment. " _That_ is your brilliant idea?"

"Yes. Why, Seto? What's wrong with it?"

"You want me to stake half of my business for _Yugi_?"

Yami bristled but kept himself calm enough to keep the anger out of his voice. "Yes. Because if you fail to help me, I swear this is the last time I will ever speak to you," he stated, shrugging. "And that might not truly matter to you, but I know you would hate for it to happen when it isn't by your own terms."

The brunet opened and closed his mouth for a moment before hissing, "Haven't I done enough for you already, Yami? I made you fake documents, I kept the media out of your hair, I gave you a place to turn to if you ever didn't feel safe at your house, I was the one who got you emancipated, helped you with Arkana and Pegasus. I am the one who showed you Japan and helped you get enrolled in Domino High as Yami Sennen—Hell, Yami Sennen only _exists_ because of me!"

"Wrong. Yami Sennen would exist with or without you," he stated calmly. "It may not have been as official as yours, but my father would have done it regardless. Anything to save his little reputation."

"Which you knocked to the ground like you're attempting with mine."

"If I wished to do the same to yours, it would have happened by now. No, what I want is you to back me. I won't lose. I just…I need to be able to entice him enough to step into this."

"How the fuck do you know you won't lose? You're asking me to stake half of Kaiba Corp on this loser's game. And you don't expect me to be pissed that you would even suggest that?"

Yami narrowed his eyes. "You know that I can win."

"You've never played the game before."

"Doesn't matter. I can still do it. You know I can."

Seto rubbed at his temples for a moment and then breathed out a loud sigh, leaning back and shaking his head. "Goddamn it, Yami."

Yami smiled around his soda.

* * *

"Dungeon Dice Monsters."

He spun around with wide eyes, the baritone voice making his skin crawl. "Fuck…"

"Why curse?" Yami asked, walking straight towards the arcade game and watching him with his head tilted, eyes sharp and inquisitive. "There's no need for that. Now, if I had a knife or something, _then_ you should curse, _Duke_."

The teal-eyed teen narrowed his gaze into slits for a moment, staring coldly. "What is it that _you_ want?"

"Want?" the shorter boy commented. "I don't _want_ anything."

"Then why are you _here_?"

"Hmm…Well, actually, I came to check out the new arcade. You just so happened to be here."

" _Bullshit_."

"You're right. I sought you out," Yami stated with a shrug, casting a small glance at the machine; it was a newer model than the one down the street and the game was a little new but past that, nothing really seemed different. The games sold at the front were all newer than the ones he had seen at the Kame Game shop before when he had been there; the selection was bigger too…

"For _what_?"

"A proposition."

" _What_?"

Yami smirked slightly, the right side of his mouth drawn up as he turned his full attention on the other boy. "A proposition. A business proposal, if you will."

"A business proposal?" Duke repeated slowly.

"Yes. It's a simple enough proposal, in all honestly," he murmured, glancing at the others in the arcade for a moment; none of them were listening. Good. "I, along with my cousin Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp, will fund your game. I will make a fifty million dollar investment _this very moment_ if you so _wish_. Seto will handle the marketing after you have developed it as you wish to do so before public release."

"What the fuck are you even…?" Duke blinked several times. "You don't _have_ that money. Pegasus has that money."

"Wrong." Yami pulled a single slim debit card and showed it off to him. "This card holds an account of fifty million dollars."

The taller teen stared for a long minute, narrowed his eyes, and then slowly shook his head. "Bull."

"Figured you would say that."

Duke watched him pull his phone out, putting a small white square box that looked like a card swipe like what was at the front desks in its charger port and waiting a few minutes before checking the card's position. Yami waited a few moments until the phone said it was ready and then swiped the card; a minute later, a checking account appeared on the screen, sporting a sum of fifty million dollars in a deep green shade of color.

"You…you rigged it to say that," he hissed, staring at him and then the phone and the card. "There's no way."

"Shall we go check the account on one of your computers? Although I would hate to delay this business proposal for longer than necessary. Seto _does_ tend to grow rather impatient…"

Duke shook his head. "This makes no sense. Why the hell would you…?"

"Some skepticism is necessary for a situation like this but I am growing tired of it," Yami snapped, pocketing the debit card and the swipe, looking at the time before putting the phone away as well. "The proposition is not a one-way deal of course. Here's what will happen. We're going to play your game. If you can beat me, you win the funding for your game, no matter the amount. No questions asked. You will also have the right to do with me as you wish. Public humiliation, servant, game tester, whatever you want."

the other teen's eyes widened drastically, shining with possibilities now, completely enticed with it all. "Really now?"

"Yes."

"I want your deck."

Yami didn't so much as blink. "Then you shall have it should you win."

"Oh I'll win all right. I created the game."

"Pegasus created Duel Monster. And yet _I_ am the one who holds the title, am I not?"

"Whatever. You had years to practice that to win."

Yami shrugged. "I suppose," he conceded.

"Now what is it that happens if _I_ lose?"

"You and your father close up shop. You vanquish any and _all_ rights to the development and franchise of Dungeon Dice Monsters in written confirmation to Kaiba Corp. You give me all the information you have on me. All extra profits you made in this shop are to be given to the Kame Game Shop. You are to cease all forms of business in Domino City."

Duke narrowed his eyes. "So this is _really_ for your little boyfriend."

"No, this is all actually for me. I want to dwell on my satisfaction of putting you in your place for years to come."

He stayed quiet for several long minutes, tilting his head and really thinking it over; there was honestly more to gained than lost in this proposal. Money, development, franchising, _possession_ of the boy in front of him, fifty million dollars _just_ for winning…

"I want _all_ profits made from my game. Your cousin can afford to pay them out of pocket."

"Very well."

"When I win I'll put you on a leash in a dog costume," he snickered, smirking. "And I'll make sure you _never_ play another game again."

Yami nodded once.

"And I want your Puzzle."

"Then beat me."

"Oh I _will_."

The red-eyed teen nodded once more. "The only term Seto has is he wants it publicized. On TV. And especially the screen on the front of this shop. There will be no backing out and you will hold your word. He wants it to happen in two days."

" _Perfect_."

* * *

"Yugi, Yugi, _holy shit_!"

He blinked in confusion. "Tristan, what—?"

"You have to turn the TV on, the Duelist Tournament. Holy fucking _shit_!"

Yugi cast a glance at the TV. "What? Why?"

"Because you have to. It's about the game shop!"

"It's… _What_?" he hissed, blinking hard and scrambling for the remote; he nearly dropped the phone in his haste but managed to catch it at the last second. The TV clicked on with a hum of static and Yugi quickly changed the channel, freezing in place when he saw Yami on screen, Seto seated next to him and the headlines of " _Vicious Turf War Over Kame Game Shop's Closing_?"

His heart skipped a beat.

"Now, news has been circulating over the possibility of the long-time running Kame Game Shop closing for the past two weeks," the reporter commented, a small lean-looking blonde who seemed beyond excited with the interview, tugging on her skirt once and crossing her legs twice just in that moment. "Because of the new game shop-arcade that was opened up only about a mile away."

Yugi's stomach twisted, wondering how word could have spread so quickly before remembering the ad in the newspaper and online; he vaguely recalled waking up in the middle of the night to his grandpa talking to _someone_ , the wisps of a baritone voice somewhere in the darkness. He had assumed it was nothing more than a dream or his imagination but now he was pretty sure it was anything but…

"Yes," Yami said in a quiet tone. "There were ads."

"And you responded to one of them?"

The red-eyed teen stayed silent for a moment. "I actually was unaware of it until a friend pointed it out to me about four days ago," he admitted.

"What did you do when you found out?"

Yami cast a small glance towards the camera and then to his cousin who watched him from the corner of his eye, saying, "It caught my interest. Kame Game Shop is known for its selection of rarer games and commonly sells Kaiba Corp gaming equipment. Of course I became intrigued with this new development…"

"I see…" She paused and looked between them. "Is it true about the rumor that this is much more involved because of a rivalry involving your cousin Yami Sennen and the shop's owner's son Duke Devlin concerning Kame Game Shop owner Solomon Motou's grandson Yugi Motou?"

Yugi winced and bit his nail, watching the way that Yami blinked once in a long drawn out motion while Seto narrowed his eyes.

"This is a _business_ matter, nothing more and nothing less," the brunet stated coldly. "My cousin's personal life has nothing to do with anything concerning that matter."

She nodded, looking slightly unnerved now. "Okay."

"There is no rivalry," Yami stated simply. "There never has been."

The reporter gave him a small appreciative smile at his soft voice and focused on him now. "Is it true that you will be the one to play against Duke Devlin for the takeover of the Kame Game Shop."

Yugi froze in place. _Duke_ wanted to buy the shop? There was no way his grandpa had even _considered_ that…right?

"Yes," he agreed. "We will be playing a game of his choosing tomorrow. The event will be publicized on TV and on both websites' homepages. The terms and conditions applied to this event will be announced before we begin."

"But, according to a statement that your younger cousin Mokuba made, all of the terms are negotiable, is that correct?"

"From what I know of, yes. I am not entirely sure. He could change his mind. For all I know we could end up playing Blackjack."

She nodded again once. "Have you ever played the game Duke created? Dungeon Dice Monsters?"

"I have not."

"What happens if he picks it? Will you be studying up on the rules when you are home?"

Yami blinked once, that long slow motion. "If he chooses then we play. No, I don't plan to do so."

"But aren't you worried about going into this unprepared?"

"No. I have always been able to boast the ability of learning quickly and being resourceful. I won't need to worry myself ahead of time."

She laughed softly, a giggling noise that made Yugi narrow his eyes even as he continued worrying about the red-eyed teen and game shop; did Yami really plan to play against Duke for the shop? For his _house_? He wasn't sure if he should have attempted being grateful or horrified by the entire thing. Mostly he was starting to feel pissed, however. What gave him the _right_ to do that when he wasn't even speaking to him? Did he think he could do this like some massive gesture towards him, slip back into his life or…?

Yugi honestly had no idea what would happen if this was a gesture or even if it wasn't.

There was no real knowledge of whether or not this meant he would come back to him. He didn't know if this meant he was just going to walk off again when it was over or not.

And that pissed him off more than anything else.

"You sound pretty confident that you'll win."

"That's because I plan to. I plan to win and I _hate_ losing. Especially when it comes with stakes."

"And you aren't even slightly worried?"

"No. I'm going to win." Yami smirked after a moment. "I have far more to lose than Duke as it is. It gives me more reason to _know_ I'll win."

Yugi shifted to lean forward with his elbows against his knees; what did that mean exactly? What had he offered? What were the terms being discussed?

"Well, before we start taking some of the calls"—the blue-violet-eyed teen's gaze shot to the phone in his hand where he could see already that Tristan had hung up—"is there anything you wanted to say in case Duke or the Motou's are watching?"

The red-eyed teen tiled his head for a moment, debating, and then finally muttered, "No. I have nothing to say to any of them."

Even Seto looked surprised, eyes widening faintly with a small blink before turning his attention from his cousin again.

"Really? Nothing?"

Yami shook his head.

"Um…okay, I guess." She blinked, still seeming mystified. "So, we already have several waiting on the line with questions for either of you about the entire thing. We'll swap between calls and questions online, okay?"

"Sure." Yam cast a small glance at the camera and then turned back to the phone that went off, the reporter leaning forward to press the speaker button for the conversation to begin; Yugi glanced at the cell in his hand again for a moment and really debated the idea in his head.

"Kaiba, why are you sending your cousin to play this game against Devlin? Shouldn't you be the one to do it? Especially when all of this concerns Kaiba Corp in general?"

"Yami wanted to do it. He tends to like challenges like this anyways."

" _So_ this doesn't have anything to do with him dating the Motou boy?"

Seto's jaw clenched slightly. "No. Yami just wanted a challenge."

"Yeah, _okay_ ," the caller scoffed just before hanging up again.

Yugi stared at his phone and then the remote before chewing his cheek; maybe he should just turn the TV off…

"So you're _not_ just doing this to get back at Duke for what he did before at the school with you and Motou?"

"No. It's a business venture."

Yami and Seto settled into a nonchalant pattern of swapping off answers as if just by instinct, not the least bit thrown off by the questions; Yugi was still wondering how the fuck the red-eyed teen thought he had the right to do this, to the point that he was actually calling in on the show and half tempted to try the boy's phone now as well.

"Okay, so internet question number thirty-six would be 'Yami, I go to Domino High with you and Yugi. And I haven't seen you there in almost a month now. I've only seen Yugi there. Did you change schools because of Yugi or something?'"

Yugi sat up so quickly that he nearly dropped the phone. Had Yami changed schools at some point? He hadn't heard from Tristan about that and the brunet would have told him…right? Then again, the last time he had spoken to Tristan before this call had been when he had thanked him for his help and then both of them had got separate ways because Joey was coming and Yugi hadn't been in the mood for a fight right then.

"No, I didn't change schools," Yami murmured quietly, chewing his cheek and tilting his head; it sounded kind of like something Mana would write him—or Mai. Definitely one of those two… "I actually haven't been feeling very well lately so I haven't been in school for a little while."

"Okay, so our next one says 'Yami, did you and Yugi break up recently? It seems like you're never there and Yugi isn't looking so hot anymore.'"

Seto rolled his eyes while his cousin stated, "No. Again, I've just been feeling ill. Maybe he's not feeling well either" with a shrug.

"Yeah, I would feel better if you weren't such a fucking bastard," Yugi snarled at the screen, ignoring the fact that he knew the other teen couldn't hear him and waiting around another twenty minutes through questions and answers, most of them Seto's this time around.

Yami ran a hand through his hair for a moment before glancing at the phone again.

Yugi waited a long minute, shaking his head as the reporter offered Yami a sympathetic smile and then turned extremely excited.

"The area code says it's actually _from_ Domino this time."

The red-eyed teen didn't look nearly as excited, instead taking on a somewhat tired expression though he did look curious at least; Yugi sighed and leaned into the backrest. What were the odds, honestly, when it came down to it? This _did_ involve Domino after all, so it wouldn't have surprised him if they were a bunch of them calling in right about now. Especially if you added the fact that most of them probably wanted the antagonism between Yami and Duke to skyrocket so they could witness the animosity when they watched.

"Hello, you are on air speaking with Yami Sennen and Seto Kaiba about"—Yugi pressed the mute button, mouth falling open—"the Devlin-Kaiba dispute over the Kame Game Shop."

_Oh_ shit. He was actually—thank the gods for that random number selector.

"Hello?"

Fuck. Yeah, he so hadn't thought this one through well enough.

He had no idea what was going to say…

"Maybe they got disconnected—" the reporter started.

"Just give them a second," Yami muttered. "They might not know they're on."

She gave him a slightly confused look, blinking before realizing what he meant. "Good point."

The red-eyed teen leaned forward, shifting to relax some of the tension in his throat. "Do you have a question or…?"

Yugi felt a small smile force his lips to curve. "You sound tired," he commented quietly, surprising himself.

Yami blinked a few times but Yugi knew immediately that he recognized his voice; he shifted slightly and his eyes grew warm. "Yeah, maybe a little," he replied simply.

He hesitated, debating hanging up immediately. He still had _no_ idea what it was that he wanted to say in the first place and he wasn't sure he wanted anyone to know that he had called in. But Yami was right there on the screen in front of him and his voice was so soft and warm and he _wasn't_ hanging up…

"Um…how are you? You know, in general, not just with the…turf war."

"I'm okay. Thank you for asking."

Yugi closed his eyes for a moment, tilting his head and wanting to drown in the warmth of his deep voice. "So, I just had a couple of quick questions."

"Ask away."

If he really tried he could almost picture him in front of him, eyes as deep and warm as lava and body heat mingling in the air all around them, between them, reaching out to brush against his skin in a gentle caress.

He forced his eyes open again, watching the screen, the way that Yami leaned forward nearer to the phone, seeming almost careful about making sure not to look at the camera or appear too interested or excited and happy.

Yugi bit back a small purr; at least he still affected him like this.

"Okay, so, I'm pretty sure you've been asked this a few times already…"

Yami tilted his head.

"But this _isn't_ just something to make Yugi want to date you?"

"God…" Seto rubbed at his forehead. " _How many times do we have to say this_? It's—"

"Seto, knock it off. He was asking _me_ ," Yami snapped, casting the brunet a sharp look before turning away again. "The answer to that is no. That would be a misconception. Someone mentioned that they hadn't seen us together at school in a while so it seems like a stunt to get his attention. And it's not. I haven't been in school or around him lately for my own personal reasons that have nothing to do with him."

His cousin's eyes narrowed and focused on his face; why was he telling him so much when the others had gotten nothing but a simple "no" whereas the internet comment got "I haven't been to school recently due to feeling ill"? What made this caller so special?

"Oh, okay." Yugi paused for a moment, chewing his cheek. "Seto, since this all has to do with your corporation, does that mean when Yami wins that you plan to take control of the Kame Game Shop?"

Yami didn't miss the way Yugi said "when" instead of "if", lips pulling up into a slight grin; Yugi actually believed he could win this…

"No. The Kame Game Shop will still be the Motou family's. I have no need for it."

"Then why are you bothering with it?"

"It is within my interest to put the competitor out of business."

"But Devlin isn't producing gaming equipment, just selling it…"

"Duke wants to make a gaming franchise called Dungeon Dice Monsters. And his arcade competes with mine."

Yugi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Can't handle a little competition, Seto?"

"That's not competition. That's a leech, moving into _my_ space and trying to steal _my_ business. I'm going to squash him like the little bug he _is_."

Yugi snorted out a laugh and shook his head.

"Are we done?" Seto asked immediately, narrowing his eyes into slits.

"One more real quick question!" he objected as the reporter reached forward to disconnect the call and have another random number selected. "Do you think Yugi will be there when you play against Duke?"

Yami blinked and frowned. "I think that Duke intends to have both Motou's as 'special guests' for the event so that they can watch firsthand as I 'fail'."

"Do you want him to be there?"

He stayed quiet for a second. "I don't know."

* * *

Yami was escorted immediately to the back rooms towards the massive stadium where he was told to use the elevator to get to the top floor and go to his side of the arena; he honestly hadn't thought that the damn store was this big, especially when Yugi's was pretty tiny but definitely had that quality to it that made it feel like the perfect home…

He stepped out of the elevator to find his cousins there waiting, all four of them watching him as he looked at Duke across the arena; such a massive grid he had set up…

The red-eyed teen stared at the lines for a long minute and started forward, realizing only belatedly that the cameras were all singled in on him; he cast one a curious glance from the corner of his eye and then looked forward again.

He stopped at the platform, looking over the two sets of die that were placed on it already, glancing at the screen that showed a one-hundred by one-hundred grid set out in front of him. The map beneath it boasted a graveyard, a mountain, mountain tops, a lake, forests, meadows…

Yami stared at the screen until it connected. The Duel Monsters official terrain map. Duke had installed it into his game as the field.

"I see you finally came," the raven-haired boy laughed, leaning against his platform and laughing as the red-eyed teen ignored him for a moment and then finally lifted his eyes towards him. "I thought you were going to chicken out."

"I don't run from things that aren't a threat," Yami stated calmly. "You're too weak to scare me, Duke."

"Right," he scoffed. "Oh, but, hey, you haven't looked around just yet. Take a look at everyone who's here. You might just recognize a few faces in the crowd."

Yami debated ignoring him for a moment but the cameras were panning outwards as if to mimic him looking and it seemed a waste to let that go without some kind of half-assed attempt to give them reason to do so.

Some random school mates, including Joey, Tristan, Tea, Ushio, Valon and Alister, Marik and Ryou…

Some cheerleaders who he thought he recognized as the "Hecate Sisters" from school…

Mai and Mana and Mahado along with Vivian and two others whose names seemed questionable at this point…

And yep. There they were.

Yugi and Solomon both stood leaning against the railing, both sets of eyes on him.

But behind them both, to his annoyance, were several cheerleaders with pom-poms.

Yami stared at one of them as they stuck their tongue out and another laughed, "Blowhard."

He turned away, chuckling and smirked as he shook his head. _Cute_.

"Did you teach them that phrase or did they already know it?" he murmured, shooting a sly glance towards them and laughing when their faces turned bright red; he bared his teeth in a sarcastically comical smile and then turned back to him with a snort. "Do they know anything else or is it just that one?"

"Don't get stupid, _Atem_."

"That's legally been changed. Name's Yami," he drawled, shrugging and then glancing over his shoulder for a moment towards his cousins; the brunet nodded once and he turned back to the teal-eyed boy. "Are you ready to state your half of this deal or are you going to continue standing around and doing nothing, Duke?"

"Ah, yes, the _terms_ ," he laughed, looking at Yugi and winking. "You're going to love these."

"Probably will," Yugi stated in response, shrugging leisurely as he leaned further against the railing and looked at them with a bored expression though he did glance at the screen directly front of him to find that there was a list of terms and conditions that were appearing in a split screen beneath their pictures.

"Go ahead and repeat your offers, Yami," Duke laughed, looking too delighted by the idea. "But leave the best for last, shall we? I want to tell Yugi exactly what it is you've offered me."

Yugi glanced at Yami with a pointed look and the red-eyed teen let his gaze flicker towards him before shrugging. "Very well." He straightened further. "If you should win, my cousin Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp, will fund your game. I will put down my own investment of fifty million dollars which I have provided on a debit card that you may swipe at any time to prove the amount of money in that account. Seto will handle the marketing after you have finalized your product to your heart's content and then he will announce public release. You asked for my deck. You asked for my Puzzle. You asked all of the profits that your game makes and that my cousin pay from his pocket the wages of each of the workers."

"Ah, yes, the idea of having Seto pay from his own pocket," Duke purred, laughing before turning to Yugi. "And here's the one that you'll probably find the most interesting, Yugi."

The small teen shot Yami another look, questioning and demanding answers, but didn't speak, instead keeping his mouth shut and watching his face for a moment before turning to Duke again to find his eyes too sharp with laughter, bristling at the way he stared at him.

"Little Yami here has staked his own life on this game."

" _What_?" Yugi snarled, head snapping to regard his taller counterpart's face as the other boy merely nodded and waited.

"Oh _dude_!" Bakura spat. "That's gross! You want to sell yourself off then become a prostitute, damn it."

Yami smirked widely in amusement and shook his head before turning back to the dice that lay on his platform in front of him. He just needed to know if he even had the will to fight for himself…

"And your terms are that my father and I close up shop. We vanquish any and _all_ rights to the development of Dungeon Dice Monsters with written confirmation to Kaiba Corp. I give you every little bit of information I have on you. All extra profits I made in this shop are to be given to the Motou's. We are not allowed to work in Domino City again."

Yami nodded again and then glanced at the monitor next to him, surprised as it lit up with the Dungeon Dice Monsters logo across the screen in bright red; a few dark blue subjects lay beneath the logo, titled "Game Stats", "Crest Pool", "Help", "Search", "Dice Master", "Team", "Set Dungeon Path" and "Available Monsters and Dice".

What the fuck did all of that mean?

"All right, _Atem_ , let's start shall we. Since you've never played before, I'll explain the rules." Yami turned his head and watched him lift a set of black die. "This is the movement die. The red and white sitting next to it are the attack die. The red is the first digit and the white the second. In this game there are two kinds of opposing rolls that you can make with those die. Two zeros is a double critical, which means you get to inflict mass amounts of damage with your monster but two nines mean a punishment which means that most likely your monsters are destroyed if their levels aren't high enough to withstand going against a stronger opponent."

_Duel Monsters_ , Yami thought again, looking the dice over.

"We will each pick fifty dice from the monitor to our rights."

"Fifty?" the red-eyed teen repeated, narrowing his eyes.

"I plan to drag you through the dirt in front of millions of people. I think I can afford to stretch the game out as long as possible."

Yami stared at him for a moment before turning away again.

"There are several crests—movement, attack, magic, defense, summoning and trap. Each of them has their own unique little feature on the board, though their names are pretty self-explanatory. Plus, you should know better than anyone else what trap means, right Yami? I mean you _are_ the World Champion Duelist, right?"

He blinked and dragged his eyes up to him before looking away again with a small curse under his breath.

"What the fuck? Seriously?" Joey crowed. " _He's_ the champion? Are you fucking shitting me? I thought that was an Egyptian kid."

"What the fuck do you think he is?" Yugi snarled in response, feeling stupid for not having realized it sooner as well; he had the God cards. How could he have not known that he was the world champion? Then again, in the videos where he had dueled, they had been pretty keen on pixilation, possibly because of his father not wanting him to be associated with something so childish as a game. But it could also have slipped his mind because the world champion had appeared when he was about eight and then slipped out when he was ten, almost like a shadow without a single little hesitation. If Yami hadn't dueled in the open since he was ten, it was no wonder that he would be forgotten that easily. Past that it was assumed Seto was the champion most of the time anyways…

"Yes, I recognize the crests. Magic, attack, defense, trap, movement and summoning," Yami stated, looking up and narrowing his eyes. "Explain them to me—trap and magic. I don't need the others."

"Traps can be laid anywhere on the grid system when you've summoned a monster. As long as it's planted on the field on one of you monster's paths, you can hide it anywhere and your monsters will never trigger it. The tricky part is if you put it on your opponent's side, then it will be triggered if your monster steps on it. And, _get_ this, _Yami_ , you can hide them anywhere on the board and it will only show on your screen, not your opponent's."

"So it's like placing a trap card but without the opponent knowing where it is…" _Shit_. That could seriously fuck him over if he wasn't careful.

"Exactly. Now, the magic activates special effects in monsters. Like the Man-Eating Bug's flip effect is to destroy any monster on the field. If you used magic crests on him, he would be able to take out a monster in his path. More powerful monsters require a more massive amount of crests for activating their special effects but weaker monsters only require one to two."

Yami nodded and glanced at his monitor for a moment. Traps hidden in the field could screw him over pretty badly. Just as summoning weak monsters was always a gamble in the game, doing so in this one could easily get him beaten to a pulp in only a matter of turns…

"What is the Dice Master?"

"Ah, the Dice Master. My favorite creation," Duke said proudly. "They are the monsters that you're pretty much going to put your entire stock in this game in. See, if you summon your Dice Master onto the field and he gets knocked out, you lose. That simple. They aren't allowed to be summoned onto the field without a few rules and the monster that I think you're going to choose is going to require a lot of special preparations to bring to the field."

Yami chewed his cheek.

"Some of the special effects of the monster you choose as your Dice Master are active even while it is not on the field. But the Gods don't have that effect."

His eyes flickered towards him.

"See, the Gods are extremely powerful as they are, so they don't need the extra boost. They have all the mechanics to act as they would in a duel, special effects and everything triggered immediately upon being summoned. Which reminds me, Yami, you have your three God cards on you?"

"Yes."

"Let's see them, shall we? I want to be able to see them before I win them off you," Duke stated, purring softly and looking beyond amused with himself.

Yami stared at him for a moment and then dug into the hollow metal buckle of his belt to pull the three of them out and show them off, flashing them at everyone as Duke directed before sliding them back into his deck again and staring at the teal-eyed teen. "Are you done trying to get a rise out of me? Are we actually going to play or not?"

"Yes, yes, you boring little Egyptian you."

He fought back a snarl and listened to Joey whining, "He has the _God_ cards. What the fuck? That's impossible! I should have those cards."

"In your dreams, Joey," Tristan snorted, snickering as Yami looked at the monitor next to him and started to sort through the visuals of all the dice that were scrolling up the screen. "There's no way you could rock a God card."

"Type in the name of your Dice Master after you're done picking the dice that you want. There's a counter in the corner that will tell you how many you've picked out of your fifty total."

Yami nodded without really thinking about it, looking them over and slowly staring at the numbers. One to four…was that levels? Or was it the number of rolls you got out of them? He blinked and tilted his head, glancing at Duke once and finding that he was smugly choosing already; he couldn't find any screen to show him what the fuck the teal-eyed teen was doing and a small bite of panic settled in his bones as he realized how fucked he could be.

The Puzzle heated against his skin, reassurance in the strangest form, but it was simple enough that it made him relax some. Maybe an equal number of each of the four digits? Because he couldn't exit the choosing screen no matter how many times he tried and it refused to let him slip by without picking them out and nowhere were the meanings behind the numbers written for him to see…

_Okay, okay, that's fine_. _Duke thinks he has something over me, that he can psyche me out without even giving me directions on how to work the system past what I asked for_. _And if I ask now, no doubt he will merely laugh at me_ …

Yami scanned over the numbers for a moment and the symbols that were appearing, skin crawling. _Fifty divided by four is twelve point five…so what, twelve of the others and thirteen of something else_? _And then I bet on what exactly_ …?

He glanced at Duke and then away again before letting his eyes flicker around as his hand slowly came up to grasp at the Puzzle; his racing mind started slowing just enough for him to make the choice to start picking. Levels or not, the numbers meant something at least and the crests themselves meant something just as important. Maybe it was safe to go with the same amount of numbered dice and then two of the crests?

He chose twelve of each and one summoning and a magic crest.

"Good, now that you've decided to grace us with your decision on what dice and crests you want to start out with, let's get to our Dice Masters, shall we?" Duke snorted, smirking widely as Yami chewed his cheek and continued staring at the screen with an impatient expression.

"As you can see, the choices are in the order of the cards' printing so it has all of the monsters organized as they originally were. I probably already know who you will choose, but for the hell of it, who is it?"

Yami ignored him and started sorting, scanning rapidly until he found him and chose without hesitation; Osiris was his god. He always had been, always would be. He was marked as Slifer the Sky Dragon, under his English print's name, but it made no difference to him.

"Just like I thought," he snorted, laughing. "Slifer."

Yami watched the dispenser in the bottom of the platform spit out Slifer's dice, one that was three times the size as the others longwise, something that startled him but peaked his curiosity thoroughly.

"Put him aside in that dark green space next to your arm over there," Duke snickered. "That way he can actually be counted on the field until he's summoned."

The red-eyed teen did as told and watched as a deep crimson light appeared on the arena beneath them, just a ball of bright ruby…

Hmm…

Yugi watched Yami fumble throughout the entire first sets of play; Duke had summoned over three monsters in only six turns and Yami seemed to be collecting crests and refused to summon anything, turning back and forth between the field and the monitor to his side constantly. He guessed that he had figured out the system just as Yami had—the black die determined the number of dice that was received from the machine as well as the number on them. If he got between fifty and double critical, he got three, anything from sixty to seventy got him two and eighty to ninety got him one. The order was determined by which stopped first and the second digit was almost more important than the first because if it was from one to zero to three, it gave dice with the number three while four to seven gave him a two and eight to nine gave him a one.

"You're a piss-poor choice of opponent," Duke scoffed suddenly, making him look up as the cheerleaders echoed him loudly. "I should have picked Seto. You're not even doing anything! And Pegasus said that you were a worthy opponent to duel him that day."

Yami stared at him for a moment and then turned away again, rolling the black dice to see if he could get another amount of dice through the dispenser; a ninety-nine stared back at him and Duke burst out laughing as Yami's eyes shot to the crest pool on his screen to see his summoning crests disappear completely.

"That's the thing about summoning crests," the teal-eyed teen snickered. "They can go at any time if you're not careful."

The red-eyed teen stared at him for a moment and then looked away again; well, he'd just found out a new mechanic to the game. Sadly it had been in retaliation but learning did normally come at a cost anyways…

"You mean you challenged him to a game without even giving him all the rules?" Tristan suddenly barked, eyes wide as he looked at them and Duke glanced at him with a dismissive expression. "You can't just—"

Yami held a hand up to silence him. "It's fine," he stated simply. "Roll, Duke."

Twenty turns in, Yugi started to notice a pattern with Yami; he rolled, got his crests, hoarded them, then counted them out every other roll while spending the rest of his time working with that monitor as if it was the key to everything. The blue-violet-eyed teen leaned against the railing, chewing his cheek as the other boy continued his little system of playing. Duke's side of the arena was actually pitch black due to some magic special effect he had activated and Yugi was starting to get antsy with what was going on with his side of the game. He was summoning like crazy and spreading straight towards Yami but the other teen wasn't even paying attention…

"Ooh, look at that, ninety-nine," Duke snickered. "Bye-bye summoning crests."

Yami stared at the screen for a second, glanced at him, and then murmured, "Hmm, oh yes, I'm losing horribly, right? Oh boo" in a sarcastic voice before turning away again to start playing around with the monitor.

"You suck!" the cheerleaders all screamed, laughing and waving their pom-poms at him. "You suck, you suck—"

"Can you even _spell?_ " Yugi spat, spinning on them angrily. "Do you know how the fuck to spell? Or is that why you've just been chanting this kind of crap? Do an actual fucking cheer. Make that shit _rhyme_. Or _fuck. Off_. Got it, bitches?"

Yami snorted and covered his mouth around laughter while his cousins snickered and Yugi's grandpa chuckled with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Shut the fuck up."

"Did someone push the start button on your crassness, Yugi?" Yami snorted, smiling in amusement and furrowing his brows just before straightening as his eyes lit up drastically. "Holy shit…"

"You might be stroking it right about now," Yugi snapped at him playfully. "I mean, honestly. Summon something."

"Oh, I'm going to summon something," the red-eyed teen snickered, winking at him and nearly purring at the answering smirk he got. "Just give me a few more turns."

"Yeah, yeah. What else are we all here for?"

"Damn it," Yugi cursed under his breath twenty minutes later when Yami got the first hit to his heart points; Duke burst out laughing in amusement and the smallest of the three mentioned teens looked at the red-eyed boy's crest pool for a moment. It stocked full for the most part. Tons of movement, summoning, magic, and attack…but mostly defense and two that he had no idea what they were…

"Now's a chance to protect yourself from a second hit, Yami," the teal-eyed teen sneered with a wide smirk. "We're both going to roll our movement die. If you get higher than I do then you can protect yourself from having a second heart point taken. If you get lower, I'll take out the second and you'll be left with one."

"Does that always happen when you attack directly?"

"Only if it's the first time that monster has been up there. Past that, unless it's the Dice Master, you don't get to repeat again."

"But you have to pay several crests to repeat that function, right?"

Duke stared at him for a long minute and then ignored the question, probably assuming that he was trying to psyche him out by appearing to know more than he did; both of them rolled.

"Only one heart point left."

Yami nodded absently, messing with the computer screen again. "You got that dog costume and leash and collar picked out, Duke?"

"Hell yes."

"Then get them out."

"You're surrendering?"

"Hell no," he chuckled, smirking widely as his red eyes grew perfectly bright and amused despite not looking up at him, still staring down at his arena platform.

"Then why would I bring them out?"

"Because now I'm curious about making you my little bitch," he said simply, grabbing the die and looking them over.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Duke scoffed. "You don't have any monsters on the field."

Yami looked over his collection of crests for a moment. "You remember that thing you neglected to tell me when it comes to summoning my monsters?" he commented, smiling widely. "I figured it out. I _also_ figured out why you were so _happy_ when I made Slifer my Dice Master. You didn't think I would figure out how to summon him."

The teal-eyed teen froze. "That…no. You couldn't have."

"Oh but I _have_ , Duke," he chuckled. "I have all of the crests I need to summon and wipe you out in one shot. Did you know that?"

Duke shook his head slightly, narrowing his eyes.

"Ten summoning crests, twenty magic, and oh, look at that, his special effect too," Yami said in a squeal of a falsetto voice just as one of the cheerleaders called him a blowhard again and Yugi looked ready to lunge at her. "Like, oh my god, I figured it out!"

"That's not…"

"Possible? Um, yes it is, actually. See, you buried it so far under the rest of the information that I honestly couldn't figure out what the fuck I was doing in the first place when I picked him. But, like what normally happens in duels, I figured out your strategy as well as one for me. You summoned like crazy so that if I _did_ manage to summon something, you would be able to wipe it out almost immediately. But Slifer here, when summoned, if I can get a double critical, destroys every single monster on the field—including my own if I had any to lose, which I don't, as you can see. And you're pretty much out of summoning crests as it is considering how many monsters you have on the field. Which prevents you summoning Ra over there."

"How the fuck did you know I chose Ra?"

"I didn't. Until now," Yami admitted, laughing. "I was skeptical but then I realized that you could use your monsters as offerings if you had to. And then it also made sense to me why the picture of Ra had been blinking at me when I chose Slifer. Looks like you didn't completely debug your system. Guess Seto will have to take care of that for us, huh?"

"You haven't summoned him yet! You have no fucking idea if you—"

"Oh no, I'll get it. I'm going to get the double critical," he stated, calmly nodding once. "And when your monsters are completely off the field, his automatic special effect of being summoned comes into play with his second mouth activating, _doesn't_ it?"

Yugi shivered at the sultry purr when the red-eyed teen winked at him before turning back; Duke shook his head, laughing, "You're not going to get a double critical. There's no fucking way that's going to happen."

"Oh, but I am! And it will. Because I hate losing. And for the majority of the game I've been sitting over here biding my time but really, I was just taking note of the way that you seem to be rolling an underhanded way rather than overhand. Ensures more of a chance of two zeroes, right? Yeah, unworthy opponent, right, Duke?"

"That's not…You're still not going to—"

Yami rolled his eyes and grabbed the dice, looking them over and holding them up for him to see. "I roll these and I win. Past that, I get another double critical with the second set of dice and I don't even have to fucking _bother_ with using those magic crests I stocked up on just in case."

"You have no place to put him—"

"The far left corner of my field. You completely neglected it. It's a simple enough place for his fourteen sides for the dungeon path needed to summon him completely." He put Slifer's dice onto the field and started to draw out his path on the field, a jumbled mess of blocks that looked almost like a half-assed Tetris piece, stretching out a piece to the very tip of Duke's placement of a warp hole that sat in front of Yami's heart points. The dice in the middle of his platform did the same as Duke's all had, opening as was marked on the grid with the figure in the middle. Yami ducked his head and took it in, grinning and then offering the summoning crests in his pool before grabbing the black die and rolling immediately. For a moment Yugi thought for sure he wasn't going to get it and then the two zeroes came up on the screen with the announcement of a double critical and Duke looked ready to vomit as each of his monsters' holograms disappeared altogether. Slifer appeared almost as large as he would have on a duel simulator, though the lack of lightning made Yami glower slightly in annoyance. The second mouth opened immediately and the bottom heart on the marker in front of Duke went out.

"Now, how about I set up my warp hole over here in front of _your_ little heart points and roll my movement dice and get him over there to attack and see if I can get another double critical like you did before?"

Yugi laughed at the way that he waggled his eyebrows and then rolled the movement dice, getting another couple of zeroes and moving him all the six spaces he needed to get to the warp hole before activating his own on the field and using it to place Slifer there, activating an attack crest and rolling again.

"Oh look at that. Double. Critical. Not your lucky day, huh, Duke?" Yami scoffed, rolling his eyes as Slifer attacked with both mouths and the hearts both went out immediately, the red-eyed teen leaning back with his hands against the platform, staring at the Slifer figurine for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure that he had done this for himself, but it felt good to put Duke in his place anyways and Yugi and his grandpa didn't have to go homeless like they might have before…

Yami didn't care for the disconnected look on Duke's face. "I won," he announced loudly so that the noise of the cheerleaders' crying was drowned out and the boos that had erupted started to fall some in volume. "You and your father are to close up shop. You are to pay Kame Game Shop any and _all_ extra profits you have made since you began business here in Domino. You are to sign the legal documents my cousin has produced in order to release _all_ rights of the Dungeon Dice Monsters franchise to Kaiba Corp. You are never to speak of this franchise aside from purchasing but if you ever make the claim of having had it at one point, you will be fined an amount of fifty thousand dollars. You are _never_ to do business in Domino City again and should you do so, fines will be placed."

"How…?"

Yami turned away, snatching the Slifer dice and looking it over. "And this, Seto?" he announced, seeing him look up from the corner of his eye as he studied the nicely done Egyptian God model in his palm. "I'm keeping this."

"Mr. Sennen, Mr. Sen—"

Yami cut past the reporters before they could even really get a word in and disappeared inside the elevator while Yugi scrambled past Tea and Joey to get to him, pushing the blond straight into the brunette and hurrying inside. For a few long minutes stupid elevator music played and Yugi started panicking because if Yami got away from him—he shook the thought off and shot out of the elevator again. A bunch of people were cheering and whistling at Yami as he passed, the red-eyed teen flashing them small smiles before disappearing outside again.

"Yami, wait up a second!"

The red-eyed teen stopped and spun on his heel, waiting for the smaller boy to catch up; Yugi got a few steps in front of him and doubled over, panting and then looking at him through his lashes as if he was afraid he would disappear if he wasn't watching him.

"Shit, I thought you would give me a second to catch up."

Yami gave him a small weak smile. "I'm sorry. I'm still as impatient as always."

He gave him an odd look as he straightened, letting out a deep breath that came out as a mixture between a huff and a sigh. "You're okay?" he asked, dismissing the way that the statement stroked at his temper for a split second.

"Yes," he stated, nodding shortly before frowning. "I…yes, I just…I still have some things to do and consider before I do anything else…"

Yugi chewed his cheek, about to snap at him that if he expected him to wait forever he had another thing coming, but fell silent immediately, realizing the threat had no foundation and would have fallen flat anyways. "Yeah, okay," he muttered, nodding once and looking him over for a moment. "How's your…?"

"Hmm? Oh, I think they're okay. I need to go change the dressings on them in a little while," he murmured absently, blinking before biting his cheek until it bled and became the only thing he could taste for a split second. "How are you, by the way? I never really got around to asking…"

"Fine. Bored, lonely…I, um…I miss you," he admitted, ducking his head and awkwardly kicking his left leg, chuckling softly. "A lot. I don't…I really don't understand what's going on."

"Personal things," he stated firmly, shaking his head. "They have nothing to do with you. And, as soon as I have it all figured out—or at least enough to live with myself—then I'm all yours again, okay?"

Yugi shook his head slightly. "Nothing I can help you with?"

Yami stayed quiet for a long minute, really taking the question into consideration and fighting with all the possibilities of his own answer. If he asked him what he loved about him, what the hell actually made him care for him, he didn't think that Yugi would honestly know and he didn't think he could live with himself if he put him so firmly on the spot like that.

"No, little one, I don't think so."

Yugi's head snapped up, studying him with wide eyes that glistened with sharpness and acute pain that made his heart twist in his chest. "So…little one, huh?" he commented, a soft snort that was half amused and half annoyed. "I thought that was your little…groggy, half-asleep state talking."

"That day, yeah. I mean, you did wake me up," he offered, smiling slightly and shrugging. "I like thinking of you that way."

"As little?"

"As _mine_."

The smaller teen froze in place, eyes stretching wide for a moment as he opened and closed his mouth and ducked his head, laughing a little before kicking his foot again. "Hmm…well, you already have that, don't you?" he muttered.

"I suppose so…"

"You suppose?"

"I just…Things aren't as easy as I was hoping they would be."

"Nothing in life is supposed to be easy."

Yami nodded and Yugi looked up when he moved closer, eyes widening when the taller teen drew him into a tight embrace and pressed his face into his neck, mumbling a soft, "That's why you're so fucking irritating, right?" in a teasing tone that made him laugh.

"Screw you, Yami. You're twice as bad as I am," he snorted cheekily. "You and your stupid little habits and your annoying little commentary and—I can kiss longer than you can so I have that one over you. Oh, and I still totally want to have you tied up to the bed as my prize later."

Yami laughed in his ear. "Hmm, yeah…" he murmured, voice taking on a soft sultry edge. "Wouldn't that be fun? Get to do whatever you want."

"Fuck…"

The taller teen pulled back with a wide smirk, winking at him and stepping back once. "Maybe next time."

Yugi blinked and rolled his eyes before studying him for a moment; now he recognized that gleam in his gaze and it was making his stomach clench as it had earlier. "What's wrong?" he finally asked. "You don't have to—"

"I…think it finally caught up to me," he admitted quietly, looking away and studying the screen on the shop where it was replaying Slifer destroying Duke's heart points. "The abuse or something…I don't really know anymore. I think I just…I don't know."

"And you're sure I can't help you with it? I—Rebecca's dad studied psychology for years, maybe he could…Or…I don't know. Therapists or counselors or…you know, just something." Yugi shrugged with a helpless expression as Yami's eyes flickered to take in his face, the smaller boy looking slightly shaken but more determined than anything else now that he really had his attention. "I'll go with you—I mean, of course I would, but I…I don't…If you don't want to…"

"I don't think a therapist can actually help me with this," Yami admitted. "They're trained to deal with this kind of thing, yes, but I…I wouldn't listen. I already know I wouldn't and if I know that then why waste the time on it?"

The smaller boy opened his mouth to argue but then nodded instead, sighing softly and giving him a small broken smile. "Okay. If you're sure, then that's okay too. Um…I guess then you'll have to figure this one out on your own, huh?"

"For now, yes. It won't take much longer. I promise you that much." He paused. "I can take on the bigger part of it later. For now it's all about the smaller one and that won't take nearly as long."

Yugi nodded again and chewed his cheek, repeating the dip of his head and then running his teeth over his lip for a moment before sighing loudly. "Tell me something real fast, Yami."

The taller teen blinked and gave a small nod for him to continue.

"…Are you depressed? Like clinically depressed?"

He hesitated of a moment and thought it over before shaking his head. "No. I think I'm borderline, actually. I seem to be toeing the line lately but I don't think I'm going to end up depressed like you're probably thinking."

Yugi studied his face for a moment and nodded again. "Okay."

Was now a good time to explain _why_ he was on that precipice between states of mentality? Shouldn't he tell him before they got serious? But if he did and Yugi turned away from him, despite that "soul catcher" pitch that Atem had thrown him, he knew he would fall straight into it without so much as a hesitation. And he didn't want to risk that. Depression wasn't something that he wanted to take a chance at playing with. Just the thought scared him when it came down to it and the idea that he could be tossed straight into it if he wasn't careful made him feel sick.

"I, um…" _I hate myself_ … _and I think you might only love me because of the Puzzle because there's really nothing else to make you do so, but I don't want to question it because if I can pretend it doesn't have any bearing on this like Atem told me, then maybe I'll be okay in the end of this…_ "I am deeply sorry for my behavior before. I…Ignoring you was never my intention at first. I just…I didn't want to tell you about this. I thought…I guess I just got too scared to tell you…"

"Yeah, here's the thing, Yami," the smaller boy stated, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You ignore me again— _ever_ again—and I'm going to punch you hard enough to break that pretty little jaw of yours, got it?"

He couldn't help but grin at the statement, nodding easily. "Noted."

"Good because I don't really want to have to have them fixing your jaw. It would kind of make it hard to have make out session with you, after all," he commented, rolling his eyes. "Very hard, actually."

Yami chuckled softly. "Oh yes, I suppose it would, wouldn't it?"

Yugi wrinkled his nose at him and glanced over his shoulder once before turning back to him, looking more relaxed than he had in a while, smiling at him gently. "How long do you think a little time is? I mean, um…no rush, of course, but I have to admit it's…not my strong suit being patient about things I want. If it was you probably wouldn't have ended up at the warehouse in the first place, right? I mean, sex, sex, sex…and I need to shut the fuck up already."

He burst out laughing and shook his head. "Don't worry. I don't mind that. Babble away, little one," he teased, smiling and putting his hands in his pockets; his shoulder ached softly with the movement and his side tingled as he brushed his hand over it unconsciously, but aside from that he barely even noticed they existed in the first place. "But to answer your question, I think I just need a week, maybe two…maybe even less. I don't know yet. I have to figure out what I'm doing first and then I'll work at it from there. But a week at minimum, most probably."

The smaller teen nodded, frowning slightly at the statement. "Okay." He wasn't sure if he should open his mouth and attempt something further or just leave it at that and he could see the amusement on Yami's face, knowing either one was good enough for him. For a moment he wondered if maybe he was worried that he would turn away any second but he didn't want to think about that fully; if Yami had such little faith in him, then he doubted he had much more for himself at this point. "A week, I can handle a week."

Yami raised a brow. "Maybe longer…"

"Don't fuck with my head right now, damn it. I need to brace myself for the week and then the possibility of a little longer. I can't do them both at the same time!"

He held his hands up, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "Okay."

Yugi nodded again and let out a deep huff of breath. "A week. I can handle a week." He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Going to be one _long_ week."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. Just…you know, when the week is up, if I haven't heard from you, I'm going to get pissed."

"What if I need longer?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Yami, do you not know what the fuck _communication_ means?"

He burst out laughing, holding his hands up again as Yugi scowled at him openly. "Right, right. Sorry. I will text you—"

"Fuck that. If you're going to need more time you better be calling me to tell me that shit. I need _something_ to work with in the meantime."

"You couldn't just… _imagine_ my voice as you read it?"

"You want me to be patient _and_ imagine your voice while reading a text? You greedy little bastard. _Hell_ no that isn't happening."

Yami chuckled and nodded before pressing a small kiss to his forehead, a simple peck that made the smaller boy freeze, eyes widening drastically as a small blush suddenly crossed his cheeks. " _Ra,_ I've missed you," he muttered so quietly that Yugi barely heard him, eyes widening further as the taller boy smiled softly, lips curved in that lopsided way that made him beautiful in an oddly adorable way.

"Well…not too much longer, right?" Yugi commented quietly, chewing his cheek.

"Let's hope."

"Uh-uh, none of that. Say it won't be much longer. It'll make it easier for me."

"It won't take that much longer."

Yugi nodded. "Good," he stated firmly, chewing his cheek again and searching his face for a long minute before smiling slightly. "Um…I know you probably don't want me to but I need to thank you for helping out with the game shop. I…you…Grandpa and I would have been out on the streets otherwise so—"

"Yeah, you're right. I really don't want you to."

He rolled his eyes. "Suck it up."

"Actually, I thought that was _your_ job," he teased.

The other boy's face turned bright red, lips twisting into a slight scowl. "Stop that!"

"Can't help it." He bit his tongue for a moment, feeling a little twist in his stomach; they were prolonging and it wasn't going to be good if they kept doing so. "I…"

"Yeah, yeah, you need to go," Yugi supplied, nodding again and sighing loudly before hugging him tightly, squeezing with enough force to make him wince; Yami went about pulling the boy impossibly closer, surprised that he didn't object to the way that the Puzzle pressed so sharply into both of their abdomens. "I love you, darkness."

"…Did you just…?"

"You call me little one and I call you darkness. It's either that or stupid. I thought you would like darkness better."

Yami burst out laughing. "So sweet."

"Like cotton candy. I'll rot your teeth out if you aren't careful."

"Ooh, sounds like a threat."

"Hmm. Well, I did say I would break your jaw…"

Yugi purred at the feel of his hand rubbing up and down his back for a moment, not comforting but just that extra action that made him squeeze his eyes shut and try to bury himself in his warmth. Mm, he smelled good too. Yum. He snuggled a little more into his chest, trying to breathe him in until his head swam and the scent was imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life, but it was a stupid thought. He already had that nestled in his heart and needing it in his head was far from necessary.

"I love you too, little one."

He nodded a little, fighting the urge to just cling to him until he either grew uncomfortable enough to call for help or tried to pry him off or he got too tired to even keep his grip anymore. He drew in a deep breath, biting his cheek against the twist of his heart in his chest, and stepped back just enough that the taller teen was no longer in his grasp but within easy reach. He guessed maybe he was half-expecting Yami to turn out to be some kind of sick delusion dwelling in the back of his mind, some kind of insidious festering sickness that planned to invade all of his being eventually, drive him insane and leave him wanting, needing…willing to fall to his knees and beg…

"By the way, Yugi…it's a psychiatrist, not therapist," Yami said suddenly, shutting off his train of thought as easily as if he had just switched a flip in his head.

The smaller teen blinked wide eyes and then glowered at him. "Oh shut up! I _tried,_ okay?" he snapped, rolling his eyes as the other teen grinned widely.

"And your efforts are greatly appreciated," he snorted, laughing and running off while the other boy glared after him and flipped him off once, smiling as soon as he was out of view and glancing around to see if he could find his grandpa around there somewhere. He just hoped Yami would figure out whatever it was he needed to…

* * *

"You know, we should get you snockered!" Ryou announced.

Yami froze from where he was about to drink some soda, staring at him in complete confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Snockered."

"Yes…but what the fuck does that mean?"

Ryou opened his mouth and then fell silent, frowning. "Bugger. I don't remember the word for it…" He paused and narrowed his eyes, tilting his head and leaning against Yami's counter with his arms crossed and his head down slightly. "Damn it."

"What does it involve, exactly?"

"Alcohol."

"You mean, you want me to get plastered?" he asked incredulously, eyebrow shooting up and head tilted to the side before narrowing his eyes skeptically. "You actually want me to get drunk."

"Snockered sounds better." He paused and shook his head. "Either way, yes. You just won that game against Duke, got Yugi and his grandpa their home, and you haven't celebrated yet! We should get you snockered!"

The red-eyed teen stared at him for a long minute and then smiled slightly with a small shake of his head, watching him closely and searching his face for a moment before looking away again. Getting drunk sounded oddly appealing at the moment, though he didn't really want to. It sounded like fun but at the same time he felt a little unhappy with the idea. Drunk…

"Snockered." Yami grinned widely and shook his head before taking a sip of soda and glancing at him sideways. "That has to be the sexiest word I've heard in the last month."

Ryou snickered and shook his head. "See? We should do it because it's a sexy word."

"Oh, the pick up lines I could use. 'Hey, baby, why don't you and I both get snockered?' or 'I'd like to snocker with you'. Hmm… 'You and I were born to get snockered together'," he snorted, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "'Snockerifically snockered is the way to be a true snockered snockerer.'"

"I don't understand that last one."

"Drunkerifically drunk is the way to be a true drunk drinker," Yami translated, nodding and putting his soda aside. "Hmm…the more I say it the more I like the sound. Snocker. Snockered. Snockered, snockered… _snockered_. Yes, I think I want to get snockered."

"Just because of the word?" Ryou laughed. "I had a pitch and everything."

"Trying to get me in bed there, Ryou?"

"Oh, what?! No!"

"Not even a blush? I'm insulted. Why the fuck are you trying so hard then?"

"I don't know. I guess I just want someone to get snockered with."

"Snocker buddies."

"Mmhmm."

Yami nodded a little and then headed for the door before he could rethink the idea; two hours later Ryou was enjoying the view of how buzzed and disoriented the other teen was. The red-eyed teen was so magnificently plastered that he was complaining about people moving too fast and the lights hurting his eyes, the way that his head had bees in it…

"You want to go home yet, Yami?"

The eyes were as glassy as he had expected, though the pronounced state of the veins in the whites made his spine go rigid for a split second. "Not with you," he mumbled, words slurred but oddly coherent all the same, baritone pitch lurching forward as if to pick up for his lack of physical balance. "You look like Bakura. I don't like Bakura."

Ryou snickered and shook his head. "Oh, I don't like you like that."

Yami stared at him for a moment and then hissed, "You know Bakura is my cousin?"

"Yes, Yami, I know."

"Oh, okay…good." He nodded and turned away, peering into the crowd for a moment before turning back. "My head hurts."

"Yeah, that's what happens when you get snockered…"

"Snockered," Yami drawled, laughter biting the edges of the word. "So British…"

Ryou chuckled and nodded before putting his soda down and leaning against the table. "So, Yami, you get snockered often?"

"Ooh, a pick up line!"

"Mmhmm."

The teen stared at him for a moment before turning away again. "Pick up lines don't work on me," he sang loudly, making a couple of people turn, a few laughing and another whispering about what Ryou assumed was his volume control or something else that he would rather them _not_ know about just yet.

"Oh, I know they don't," he teased, trying to make him lower his voice. "But you know who they _do_ work on?"

"They actually _work_?" Yami asked, spinning on him with wide eyes, gawking. "Oh my god…"

"Yes, sometimes they do. Especially on Yugi."

The red-eyed teen shot at him so fast that Ryou had no chance to react, at first seeming dangerously close to choking him before whispering in his ear, "Is he here?"

"No, but he could be. Do you want him here?"

Yami hesitated and then draped his arms around Ryou's neck, one of them reaching for the drink that the bartender was putting out for someone else while the other was pressing against the wood that made up the counter, struggling for balance as he squinted. "Yes."

"So, if I called him and asked him to come, would you be nice to him?"

"Of course! I love the little bastard," Yami snickered, giggling after a moment and then whining pitifully with a wave of his hand at the drink that was taken away from him by the girl. "Bye-bye, snocker…"

Ryou rolled his eyes, laughing as the other teen pulled away and sat back on the stool with a blink, turning away and staring at the floor. "Yeah? So, if he showed up, would you go home with him?"

"Are you stupid?" Yami grumbled, peering at him. " _Of_ course _I_ _would_!"

"Give me your phone."

"Don't touch her! She's my baby. You can't have my baby."

"But I want to call Yugi."

"No, fuck you. Yugi is _mine_."

He fought back an eye roll. "Yami, I want to bring Yugi here. I need to call him to do that."

Yami didn't seem interested enough to pay attention to him anymore, instead staring off at someone else, peering at them and muttering something along the lines of what Ryou thought to be an awed statement of them looking like a disco ball; the albino watched how he got involved in staring at the others around them and then hesitated for a split second before snatching the phone out of the red-eyed teen's pocket. The teen turned his head and stared at him before hissing, "You look like Bakura."

"Mmhmm."

"That looks like my phone!"

"I know!"

"Oh my god…we have the same phone!"

"Oh my god, yes!"

"Holy shit."

"I know. Shocking right?"

Yami started searching his pockets and then whined loudly and looked ready to cry when he murmured, "I can't find her!"

"I know," Ryou soothed, nodding gently at him before going back to the phone screen to finish texting; he recoiled a second later, cursing under his breath when it went off with the call screen. "Fuck."

" _Ew, no_! You're like…a smaller version of my cousin! Gross!"

"Hush for a second, okay?" he griped, Yami nodding after a moment, and then swiped to accept the call. "Hey Yugi—"

"Why the fuck do you have his phone and what the fuck does snockered mean?" the other teen snarled in his ear immediately. "I swear to god if you did something to him, I'm going to hang you by your intestines."

"Yami is too drunk to walk home with me," Ryou explained, giving him a sharp look when he started to open his mouth. "I need some help getting him home. He keeps thinking I'm Bakura and they're fighting so…"

"So get a cab, moron."

"I can't pay the fair."

"Okay, so you fucking took him to get 'snockered' and then you don't have enough money to take care of getting him home," Yugi surmised, furious. "Are you fucking shitting me, you stupid bastard?"

"No, I am quite serious. And I didn't bring him to get snockered. He was already here when I happened by. I came in to check on him and he refuses to come home. I don't want him to get—"

"Where are you?"

"The—"

"Never mind. I'll track his phone," Yugi snarled shortly, hanging up immediately.

"Bloody assholes," Ryou snorted. "Him and your cousin, I swear."

"You lied."

"I know," he grumbled, smiling at him before slipping the phone back into his pocket. "Hey, Yami, check for your phone again."

The red-eyed teen blinked and then searched his pockets, pulling it out and gawking at it. "She came back!"

Ryou snickered in amusement, waiting out the twenty minutes with Yami who continued talking nonsensical things with him and then started playing with his cup; he had just knocked it off the table and across the floor, shattering the glass and leaving the albino cursing violently when Yugi walked in. He supposed it was a good thing they were still at the bar because, as anyone else would do, that was the exact place Yugi headed first.

Yami leaped from his seat when he saw him, shot over, and grabbed him tightly enough that the smaller teen winced and looked squished. "Aibou, aibou, aibou," the taller boy sang in his ear, purring and hugging him tighter until he felt like his eyes would pop out; Yugi awkwardly patted his back a couple of times.

"Hey Yami."

"I love you."

Yugi didn't blink. "I love you too," he murmured, narrowing his eyes at Ryou for a moment; he didn't really remember Yami ever being this completely clingy when he was drunk. Sure he was stupid crazy and adorable when he was like that, but this was not the least bit amusing; something was so completely off that he hated it. "Can you let me go for a moment? I wanted to speak to Ryou for a second…"

"But…" Yami glanced at him and then turned back, dropping his voice into a whisper. "Ryou is boring. And British. You don't need to talk to him."

Yugi snickered in his ear. "I know. But that's why I have to talk to him. I think he did something he wasn't supposed to."

"Is he in trouble?"

"I don't know yet."

"Oh, okay." Yami let go of him after a moment and looked like an excited five-year-old as Yugi started towards Ryou, the taller teen immediately going to his side and walking with him.

"Hi Yugi."

"Don't hi me," Yugi spat, bristling. "You brought him here to get drunk and then lied to me over the phone, you stupid bastard. What were you planning to do exactly?"

"Just this," he said with a shrug, gesturing to them. "Get you here to talk to him. I think there's something that he's not telling the rest of us and you're probably the only one who can get it out of him."

"That's none of your fucking business, now is it? Obviously if he had wanted any of us to know about it, he would have told us before. Getting him drunk so that he tells us this kind of crap—"

"Yugi, look, he's miserable. Anyone around him for more than five _seconds_ can tell"—he watched the smaller teen glance at Yami who was attempting to take his seat again but seemed a little confused about how to do it—"and I thought maybe if he saw you again, that might cheer him up some. After he first saw you at Duke's shop, he was so happy and then after an hour or two it was just _gone_. And he was miserable again."

"What the fuck are you even hoping to get out of this?"

"I don't want anything. I just…it's hard being around him so much when he's like this."

"So you suck it up or don't bother with it," Yugi snarled, doing a double take when Yami nearly knocked the stool over and ended up staring at him with wide eyes when he realized he had been caught staggering that hard. Ryou saw it immediately as the blue-violet-eyed teen stiffened and froze in place for a single second as he and Yami looked at one another. "You drugged him…"

"…Yes."

Yugi stayed quiet for a moment and then moved forward to help Yami back onto the stool, all but lifting him into the seat though he held the stool down with his foot and used the other hand to keep the taller teen balanced. "I'm going to kill you."

"What did I do?" Yami objected, frowning before grabbing him tightly and purring into his shoulder. "Although, if it's you who does it, I won't complain."

The smaller teen didn't know if that was the drugs or Yami talking but the statement still set an alarm off in his head and made him stare for a moment before looking to Ryou again, setting about covering up Yami's statement immediately though he didn't think that the albino had heard or else he wouldn't have that same slightly frustrated but mostly amused look on his face.

"You piece of shit. You drugged him."

"I needed to have him tipsy and off balance just so that he would let me call you, yes," he snapped, bristling at the way that Yugi's eyes bore into him. "We've been here two hours and I've been trying to get him to call you as he got more and more intoxicated and he refused each time."

"What is your _obsession_ with having me near him? And don't tell me that it's because of earlier," he spat, rubbing at Yami's back unconsciously as the other boy pulled him closer with his legs wrapped around his waist, bringing him completely into him and holding him tightly there as if afraid he might disappear suddenly. In his drugged state, Yugi thought it was very likely that he would fear that whereas his rational state would have argued he couldn't vanish into thin air. Either way, Yami wasn't nearly as stable as he would have been had it just been alcohol and it was scary how much Yami kept leaning forward and then staggering against his skin every few seconds. "You've been at it more often than that."

Ryou stared at him for a moment in confusion. "What?"

"You texted me a while back. While at Yami's house. You texted me something about coming over. I knew it was you because Yami hadn't been responding or speaking or having anything to do with me just yet."

The albino grew slightly paler and looked almost green around the edges. "Shit. Yeah, okay, I tried to get you over there. But you don't understand. He's…He needs you. He all but told me that a few days ago when I texted you."

"All but told you that?"

"He insinuated it."

"Insinuated it," Yugi drawled coldly, nodding and rolling his eyes. "Of course he did, you idiot. He loves me and he's hurting but he doesn't need you and the others sticking your heads up his ass about everything that's going on."

"…You _know_ what's going on," Ryou realized with wide eyes, paling as he glanced at Yami and then him with a groan; of course he knew. Why wouldn't he? They had spent all that time outside. Surely Yami had told Yugi whatever was going on, had confided in him just enough so that Yugi wouldn't be completely left in the dark and thinking that Yami didn't care about him. " _Fuck_."

"Mm," the red-eyed teen purred in his ear, making him snicker before rolling his eyes. "We should do that. We really should. It could be awesome."

Yugi shook his head. "No, Yami, not right now. Maybe later," he murmured.

"Okay," Yami yawned into his neck, sighing softly and sounding almost as if he were about to fall asleep.

"What the fuck did you give him?"

Ryou stayed quiet for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. "I…Goddamn it."

"You gave him a date rape, didn't you?" Yugi hissed.

"I didn't think that you knew what—"

"You fucking moron! I should have the police called on you! How dare you fucking drug him because he doesn't want to tell you something. You pathetic fucking bastard."

"I was trying to help him."

"'I was trying to help him'," Yugi sneered angrily, trembling and making Yami jolt to attention for a split second before settling into him again. "You drugged him so you could get information. Oh my god."

"You have no idea how bad this is. He told me something and he made it seem almost life-or-death if you weren't with him! And yet he won't even be around you—"

"He just needs to be alone for a little while. Goddamn it!"

"Yugi—"

"You are so lucky that we're in a public place or I would have butchered you by now," Yugi snarled, shaking his head and rubbing Yami's back again; he was pretty sure the taller teen was about to throw up because every now and then the way he breathed changed and he was pretty sure he was swallowing too often now. He hoped he wouldn't throw up on him, but he wouldn't really blame him if he did. "You know, at the hospital, the doctors worried that I didn't care enough. And they worried that you cared far _too_ much. That one guy working on Yami's case or whatever it is, the one that Yami flipped out on before—Yuma or Yemo or something—said that you were too attached to everyone that you exposed too. I should have taken that as a warning, honestly. Because you fucking all but _poisoned_ Yami just to get me here. You keep meddling where you shouldn't and oh my gods, if he vomits on me, I swear I'll fucking castrate you here and now."

Yami shivered suddenly and swallowed hard from his spot leaning against him and Yugi fought back the urge to push him back and check on him; he didn't know if any sudden movements would fuck him over or not and wasn't really willing to risk it at this point. He shivered again and Yugi bit back a violent noise of unhappiness at the feel.

"Ryou, what the fuck did you give him?"

"Ketamine. It's…like an animal tranquilizer…It won't kill him, but the other two I was actually looking at could have so I…"

"You gave him…an animal tranquilizer?" Yugi clapped his hands behind Yami's back, a slow applause as he glowered at him angry. "Well, aren't you just the perfect little doctor, Ryou? You stupid fucking bastard."

"Look—"

"Fuck you. I don't want to hear an apology," he snarled, bristling again and moving to rub Yami's back again when he made a low keen whining noise in his ear. "Tell me what the hell Ketamine does."

"All right, all right," he snapped, eyes widening as he looked at Yami for a moment. "It's extremely fast-acting. You can be aware of it happening but you're unable to move. It can cause memory problems. You might not even remember what happened while drugged. It can cause distorted perceptions of sight and sound, lost sense of time and identity, out of body experiences, dream-like feeling, feeling out of control, impaired motor functions, problems breathing, convulsions, vomiting, memory problems, numbness, loss of coordination, aggressive or violent behavior, depression, high blood pressure, slurred speech—"

"I'll kill you," Yugi snarled from where he had moved away from Yami just enough to deliver a punch with his left hand, his knuckles throbbing at the unfamiliar sensation; the taller teen who had been leaning against him started moving away, making him look over in alarm. And there it was. The vomiting.

Yugi cringed and squeezed his eyes shut; he hoped this wouldn't take all night or something…

It took him two hours to get Yami back to his house and up the stairs into his room but that could have been because he was so pissed he kept putting him down on the sidewalk and then punching the shit out of Ryou and then grabbing him again to walk some more. Yami was uncoordinated to the point that he was babbling under his breath and sometimes seemed to doze off and then come back again and doze off some more and when he moved too suddenly, he toppled over several times, but past that he seemed okay for the most part. He hadn't lost complete control of his body, though he did get a little nasty every now and then, snarling in his ear when he wasn't careful enough or stumbled a little due to the additional weight. He had gone off on Ryou a few times, almost like he knew what had happened even through his hazed consciousness, the way his thoughts were tied together and he had nothing left to truly wrap his head around.

"Okay, so, you're going to stay here for the night, right, Yami?" the blue-violet-eyed teen murmured, laughing when he got a disconnected rasp of breath that was too heavy and thick to be conscious. He spun on Ryou immediately, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him forward some. "I swear on the gods, I'll fucking mutilate you for this. I can't believe you did that."

Ryou pushed him away harshly. "Okay, not one of my finest ideas," he snapped coldly. "But I was worried about him and he wouldn't tell me what was doing this to him and he's all _but_ depressed and I thought maybe I could do something to change that."

"By drugging him like an idiot."

"By getting you here."

"You're a fucking moron."

"Whoa, wait, where are you going?" the albino demanded in shock, gawking at him as he headed for the stairs.

"Home. Yami doesn't want me here, as I already know, unlike you. You are staying here and keeping an eye on him, medical boy, and if you don't, I'm going to cut your balls off, understand? Make one little mistake, Ryou. One more little mistake."

The albino shivered once and nodded slightly while Yugi turned and headed off down the stairs; Ryou waited until Yami was completely awake but not one hundred percent coherent and then fled, already too bruised up to deal with another beating. Plus, he was pretty sure Yugi had been going easy on him in hopes that Yami would mutilate him himself when he woke up and he was not looking forward to that at all.

* * *

He shouldn't have but he still did a small double take when the door chimed and he came running downstairs to say that he needed a second only to nearly fall over himself when he spotted him in the doorway. He wasn't completely looking towards him, eyes kind of focused on a piece of merchandise a few feet away, but he knew he saw him from the edge of his vision; he could literally feel the heavy stare burning into his skin and it was oddly pleasurable but hurt all the same.

Both of them stood still for a long minute and a half and then finally Yami turned his head and gave him a small brief smile. "Hey."

"Um…hi," Yugi greeted awkwardly, starting down the stairs again until he reached the bottom and they were only a few steps away from each other; he glanced up the stairs for a moment, debating inviting him up there, and then turned back again with the idea that he really wouldn't want to anyways. "What, um…are you…doing here exactly?"

"Oh please," Yami drawled, giving a small smirk and a somewhat innocent wink. "You think a little Ketamine is going to stop me from remembering that pathetic little scene I made at the bar or being so nasty to you when you were trying to help?"

"Oh…oh fuck. I thought for sure you wouldn't remember anything…"

"Yeah, well, either Ryou didn't use a large enough dose or I have superhuman memory," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "I think I slept most of it off while I was trying not to vomit on you at the bar."

"Oh…blackouts or actual sleep or…?"

"Blackouts," Yami stated with a small nod. "Had to have been blackouts. Lost time or something. I could hear you guys arguing but past that, nothing else."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry it happened. I never really thought…"

The taller boy let out a laugh and looked him over for a moment, the smaller boy glaring at him in annoyance; yes, he was well aware that he was still in his little Slifer pajamas. Yami could kiss his ass if he thought he could get him out of them until he was comfortable enough to do it.

"Hmm…nice."

"Shut up. I've always had them so don't think it's anything special."

"I didn't until now," he laughed. "But I'm going to pretend it's something super special anyways and that you just got them because I won with Slifer."

"Ooh, you're playing the glory hound side. Kind of hot but mostly just rude."

Yami burst out laughing and shrugged in amusement. "Yeah, seems that way, huh?" he muttered, turning away and looking over the shop for a moment; Yugi couldn't tell if it was because he felt like he hadn't been there in so long or if it was because he was stalling or if maybe he had somehow thought that the shop would have been completely destroyed at some point or other. "I came to say thank you for last night. And to apologize for—"

"You were drugged. I don't want to hear an apology because you couldn't control your aggression," Yugi snorted, rolling his eyes and smiling in amusement. "If anything, I would like to hear you say you'll stay away from Ryou for a little while."

The statement was so open-ended that Yami had to turn his head and stare at him for a long minute, looking almost as if he expected him to add something like an ultimatum at any second. Yugi stayed quiet, watching him and waiting to see how he would respond, not the least bit surprised when he shook his head slightly.

"Doctor and all that…Plus it would be a bitch explaining to my cousins why I'm suddenly ignoring Ryou altogether, though I don't think he's going to want to come around anymore so that might work out in your favor," he commented.

"Mine?" Yugi asked slowly, narrowing his eyes. "You're telling me you aren't the least bit upset with what he did?"

"Well yes, of course I am, but I…I don't know. I don't really see the point in arguing about it or anything right now."

He stared at him for a long minute and then shook his head slowly. "You don't think it's worth getting upset over the fact that he drugged you and you could have easily been overdosed if he wasn't careful?" he spat out from between clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes into slits and glaring at him though his lashes.

Yami stayed quiet and the smaller boy stiffened.

"Are you suicidal, Yami?"

"No. I'm not. I am not suicidal, Yugi. I just…I don't see the point in getting upset over it right now."

"Why not? He could have _easily_ fucking killed you if he had given you too much! You know that Ketamine is an animal tranquilizer, right? That they use it to put animals to _sleep_?"

Yami nodded after a moment and sighed softly. "I think I'm more concerned about getting my head on straight than having been slipped a drug in my cup," he admitted, frowning and ducking his head slightly. "I think I'm just more concerned with that than the drug scare."

Yugi chewed his cheek and sighed softly before nodding once. "Yeah, all right."

"But if it means anything, I don't plan on getting snockered again anytime soon."

The smaller teen rolled his eyes in annoyance and shook his head, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his palm. "Gods, don't even."

He moved closer to press his nose into his temple, the smaller teen purring at the contact. "Hey, at least you've only got a day to wait, right?"

Yugi pulled back, almost falling onto his ass at his exuberance. "You mean…?"

"Mmhmm. I think I have most of the ground back under my feet. Still adjusting some but it's…yeah, I think I'm okay."

The smaller teen nodded enthusiastically. "Great!" he murmured, face splitting into a wide grin. "I'm glad—for you too, not just—whatever, never mind. You know what I mean."

Yami snorted a soft laugh, nodding once. "Yes, I understand what you mean," he murmured, smiling and shaking his head before glancing out the window of a moment. "All right, little one, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Sure."

Both of them stared at each other for a moment and then Yami started for the door and he narrowed his eyes in slight frustration but didn't bother to argue, instead turning to go towards the stairs.

"Hey, Yugi?"

"Yeah?"

"Think you could come over around eight tomorrow?"

"Shit, not eight," Yugi muttered, shaking his head immediately. "I have to do something at eight—well, from eight to about eleven. After that though?"

"Sure, that's fine. I just needed some time to know when you would show up."

The smaller teen nodded, watching him slip out the door before he came back and poked his head in, snickering, "Nice pajamas. Really, aibou" before running off as he went to snap at him that he could kiss his ass if he didn't like them.

* * *

"Yami?" he called loudly, starting towards the living room and looking around in alarm; if he found him bleeding somewhere, he was not going to be a happy camper. Shit, what if it was his dad and he was still lurking around the corner somewhere? He started forward, closing the door behind him and locking it before starting forward again; if they were here, wouldn't they have come running at him when they heard him calling his name?

"Yami?"

"Basement!"

_Basement_? Shit…he had a basement?

Yugi blinked and pressed his face into his palm, shaking his head in annoyance; of course he did. He had seen it when he had first come to the house after Yami hadn't answered the phone. He wandered into the kitchen and then frowned when he realized he didn't know how the hell to get into the—

"Oh my god, don't fucking do that!" he yelped loudly, blushing furiously at the other teen's surprised look before he chuckled from where he was poking his head out of the basement door. "Fuck…I thought that was a second pantry or something."

Yami snickered and shook his head, rolling his eyes playfully. "You're adorable when you're stupid," he teased, opening the door all the way for him and then heading back down the stairs; Yugi immediately followed without thought, glancing around slowly.

"Is that your parents' stuff?"

That seemed almost like a rude question but it definitely wasn't Yami's and the bed was massive, a queen size maybe? Yugi blinked and studied it for a moment; it looked like it had been built out of some kind of foreign wood, definitely nothing that he had seen before.

"Yes, the plan was always for me to have the bedrooms set up so that it looked like they lived here with me."

"Oh." The blue-violet-eyed teen pursed his lips but followed him anyways. "Well that obviously didn't happen."

"No it did not, dear little smartass."

"Better than being a dumbass!" he sang.

Yami chuckled but didn't respond, looking at his phone and then the washer before giving him a pitiful glance. "How do you work this thing?"

Yugi burst out laughing. "You wanted me here to do laundry with you?"

"No, actually I wanted you here so I could fuck you a little and then finish the laundry. Obviously that…is not completely set to happen either…"

"Fuck?" the smaller teen questioned, frowning and chewing his cheek. "Are we…going back to that?"

"Hmm? No, I meant…" Yami fell silent for a moment and then turned to him. "We have to talk before we do anything—besides the laundry. Because I need some fucking help with this!"

"You've never done laundry before?"

" _Hell_ no. Who do you think I am?"

Yugi burst out laughing. "Someone who doesn't know how to work a washing machine."

"You are a cruel little bastard, aren't you?"

"I am. I agree wholeheartedly."

"Okay, so help me with this before we do anything else?"

"Can we not talk while doing this? Or does that require too much brainpower for you?"

"I suppose we could do that. I mean, why not?" Yami muttered, grabbing the detergents and looking them all over before snatching the fabric softener and then staring at all of them with a shocked look. "What the fuck do I do with all of these?!"

The smaller teen choked on his laughter. "You put them in their places as marked on the flap!" he snorted, smiling and gesturing.

"What the fuck is a pre-wash?" he snapped. "What do I do with that?"

"Nothing. You avoid it and put in a capful of detergent in the main wash section before putting softener in the softener spot and then closing it and starting it up."

Yami studied all of his instructions for a moment and then looked the machine over. "Have you ever sat on it while it's going?"

"What? No, why?"

"Because they always do that on TV shows and I was curious about if it was fun."

"Probably like having your ass massaged in very soothing vibrating motions."

Yami's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at the machine and then glanced at him and back. "You have no idea how appealing that sounds right now."

"I know, now I want to do it," he snorted, smiling widely as the other teen started to fill it up as marked and then jumped on top and turned the dial to start it; Yugi immediately leaped up with him and shivered at the soft vibrations. "Ass massages are amazing."

"Yeah?" Yami chuckled.

"Although, it would be more fun if it was fingers kneading flesh…"

The taller teen jumped off the machine as suddenly as his curiosity had appeared, chewing his cheek as he paced forward a few steps and turned around to look at him for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"You, um…invited me…?"

"No, Yugi, I mean, why did you actually come?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes slightly. "I don't get…You knew I would come! I love you, that's why I came. Why wouldn't I come to see you…?"

Yami shook his head a few times, opening and closing his mouth twice before shaking his head again and chewing on his thumbnail with a confused and slightly scared look to his feverish eyes.

"Come here, darkness," Yugi stated, stretching his hand out and giving him a pleading look. "Talk to me. What's going on? I thought you wanted me here."

"I do!" Yami objected immediately before frowning and shaking his head again.

" _The most painful moments in a relationship are often the most beautiful_ ," Atem had murmured before, smiling widely and looking as if he were a child on Christmas morning. " _Soul catchers are just too strong to be ignored. I think one of the Item bearers in my time lost their mind because theirs died. You share emotions, you can almost share thoughts, you share each other's wounds and bleed the same blood. It's hard, yes, but it's beautiful and morbid and cunning. It's always worth it if you fight for it_ …"

"Darkness…"

The other teen looked up, red eyes fevered in the half-light and his expressionless gaze narrowed so that his dark lashes cut through the restless look in long strips of shadow, his face guarded but reminding Yugi of physical pain; he opened his mouth to coax him closer but found himself silenced when Yami moved towards him, an unusual show of nervousness making him pull on his jacket sleeves. The air around him was dark, quivering with energy that could have easily been read as anger had it been anyone else, but the smaller teen recognized the desperation and fear that made the atmosphere so much heavier, weighing it drastically.

For a moment Yugi had the brief thought that if he only opened his arms Yami would walk straight into him but the idea was quickly squashed by the reality of the situation; the red-eyed teen wasn't going to just run into his embrace like a loyal dog, rather taking the stance of a cautious animal, a wolf, instead studying and gauging even as his feet moved in slow, deliberate steps to bring him back to only a foot away from him.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, actually…"

The smaller teen furrowed his brows and nodded at him to continue.

"I was always curious about if you believed in that whole…soul mate business thing."

Yugi blinked and frowned at him. "Are you asking if I actively believe in soul mates?"

"No, I mean, have you ever believed in them?"

He shook his head after a long minute, frown deepening. "No," he admitted. "And if you're asking if I think that's what we are, then no. I don't."

Yami shook his head in response. "No, I just wanted to know if you had ever believed in them at any point." He smiled and repeated the gesture after a moment. "I've never actually believed in them either. I was just curious about if you have."

"Yami, I don't get what this has to do with anything…What did you want to talk about exactly?"

He chewed his cheek, debating what he should say to him, because he didn't want to talk about the Puzzle and surely not the soul catcher idea that Atem had given him. No, he didn't want to tell him about either of those because if Yugi was his soul catcher and then Yugi had someone else as his, he thought he might vomit.

"All right. Allow me one thing now, Yugi."

The blue-violet-eyed boy blinked in surprise and sat straighter, tilting his head before narrowing his eyes to fight the urge to agree immediately to anything he said.

"I want this conversation to stay here, beneath the ground, where it will remain buried should I make a fool of myself," he growled in a rough voice that shook slightly at the edges and alerted Yugi to just how scared he truly was. His eyes narrowed further and seem to draw in the dank light around them to glow in the darkness for a split second, just enough for Yugi to take note but not enough to make him focus on it completely even as he watched him lower those gleaming red slits to scowl at this jacket sleeve with a frustrated noise. "You saw what I did at the warehouse."

"Yes."

"How much?" he asked, red eyes locking with his, searching his face before narrowing further.

"More than your cousin or Rebecca put together," he admitted. "I think I saw almost all of it."

"Well, it has to be nothing that you haven't already known this whole time," he commented quietly, voice taking on a slightly stiff note while Yugi chewed his cheek, his mind immediately supplying him with all of the times that Yami would curl in on himself. Of his sharp temper and cold tongue, the way that he would distort into some kind of darker version of himself when he felt truly threatened.

"I thought you were bipolar for a while," he admitted, shrugging. "But yeah, I guess it was pretty obvious…or at least it should have been, anyways."

Yugi had to admit he was getting a little annoyed with the butt massage going on under him; the machine kept shaking a little too much at times and it was completely throwing his rhythm of enjoyment off.

For a moment he was silent and then his voice lifted to separate the air just enough for Yugi to hear, almost too quiet for the smaller teen to catch his words. "I always worried you were going to push me too far, that I would snap and you would wind up hurt."

It was barely audible, a clear confession that Yami just wanted out there rather than for Yugi to actually hear, but in between the silence and the soft hum of the machine beneath him, the small teen _did_ hear it and it made him freeze in surprise. Yami noticed this, eyes flashing straight to his face with a slightly fearful expression before growing calm again as if he had just drawn strength from the knowledge of his words being heard.

"You push me too hard sometimes," he admitted in a steady voice, a little louder than the previous statement. "But for whatever reason you don't make me break. I don't understand it, but I…it still worries me. And I…I can't shake it off, Yugi. Especially not after that day when you read my text messages. I thought I was going to hurt you. I thought for a second…"

"But you didn't."

"No, I didn't," he agreed in a dry voice, shaking his head in irritation before momentarily clenching his jaw and chewing his cheek violently for a second, the muscles jumping beneath his skin and leaving Yugi's flesh quivering with worry for the taller teen. "But that might have a simple enough explanation if you're willing to listen to it."

Yugi wanted to argue that he didn't need to hear the reason, just that it was an absolution so far and he didn't mind that Yami wasn't completely in control of himself all the time. Because maybe he just wasn't meant to be and who could honestly expect it with all the things that he had gone through before and recently?

" _The Puzzle doesn't affect who the soul catcher is. It can't make someone love you back if they don't, Yami. That comes from two hearts, two souls, two different people. Even the strongest of the Puzzle's magic doesn't make a bond between two soul catchers. It's impossible. Yes, the Puzzle can draw strength from you and Yugi but that's the most it can do_ …"

Yami stared at him for a moment and then shook his head slowly; no, he wasn't about to tell him about the Puzzle, nor the soul catchers. He didn't even know if he believed that himself. He did believe that Yugi loved him but he didn't think he could find it in himself to believe all of what the pharaoh had to offer when he spoke to him.

"I'm in love with you. I told you before and I'm telling you now, Yugi. I love you." He hadn't really meant to do it but when he looked up their eyes locked and he found himself tilting his head slightly to the side, once again casting shadows across his gaze that Yugi could never hope to read. "I thought that I would try giving you space at first. At the hospital, you being there scared the shit out of me. I honestly have no idea what I supposed to say or do and it didn't help that I had heard your conversation with Rebecca."

His eyes stretched wide, blinking before wincing and nodding slightly. "I don't suppose it did."

"Doesn't that scare you, even a little? That you were willing to curl up next to me and die there? That can't…I don't…" He shook his head slightly and turned away, staring at the floor. "I don't want you to think like that."

"And yet it already happened. It's terrifying but it happened and it's over with so just…move on from it, Yami."

Yami stayed quiet for a minute that seemed endless to the smaller teen who debated jumping down and walking over to him but merely sat up a little more when the red gaze turned on him again. "You never once got worried that I would lose against Duke," he commented suddenly.

He blinked. "No," he agreed. "Why would I?"

"You have more faith in me than I do."

Yugi shrugged slightly. "I think that's probably shared between us," he muttered. "But isn't that normal or something?"

"I don't think it's normal when you want to curl up and die with someone."

"And yet there are double suicides between couples all the time, Yami. They all claim they love each other so much that they wanted to die together, go to a better place…"

" _Yugi_ …"

"Look, Yami, I don't know what exactly you want me to say about that. I would have done it and I wouldn't have hesitated. And I'm pretty sure you would have done the same or am I wrong about that?"

"No, you're completely right. But why doesn't that scare you?"

"I don't know." Yugi shrugged again with a bewildered look. "I don't know and I don't have the words you want to hear. I don't have an explanation. All I know is that I would have done it and I wouldn't have regretted it."

Yami stared at him for a long moment and then shook his head slowly before sighing and chewing his cheek. "Maybe we should go to counseling or something…"

"Ew."

"You offered to go with me when it was about me."

"Yeah, but that's you. I mean, if you're depressed or borderline, you need to see about that. But hey, this is melodramatic teenage love. I think it happens every now and then. Like girls or guys killing themselves over breakups or something."

Yami blinked. "Fucking hell."

Yugi shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Okay," he muttered, nodding slightly and chewing his cheek before blinking and turning his attention to the timer at Yugi's side before dragging his eyes back to his. "I thought I should probably tell you that it's your decision if you want us to be more than…this."

The smaller teen bit back a snarl that of course he wanted more for the two of them, instead narrowing his eyes slightly as he continued.

"If you don't want to be anything more than fuck buddies, I'll live with it. I'll stay here for whenever you need me…and when I finally can't take it anymore, when I can't bear being on the same continent, and when I'm completely sure you've found someone, I'll go back overseas. Maybe the states, or maybe further into Egypt. Hell, maybe I'll just travel…I heard it's fun when you're hurting…"

The pain hit him hard, his heart seeming to explode with it even as it shot through his veins and tore through his consciousness, ripped at his insides and left him hollow and bleeding with the sensation. Yami was offering him something he had no need to, and what was worse was the was tearing himself up in order to do it, cutting up sections of his heart and soul in a haphazardly manner, almost if he wished to hand it to him like a slice of cake, gouge out one section and somehow manage to retain his overall form. Yugi took a minute to truly calm down enough to take in the way that Yami was watching so closely, hitting him violently now that this had to be the second time he had witnessed Yami sacrifice his own pride for him. It was knowing how much it cost him, realizing just how much it hurt and left Yami bleeding on the inside, that made his eyes water.

"We can always be friends," Yami stated, nodding slightly and giving him a small genuine smile that made his heart ache all the more. "If you decide your place isn't with me, I can still be your friend."

Yugi fought back a series of trembles at the idea that maybe Yami did not really believe in what he was offering but knowing somewhere deep inside of him that he did, that he truly thought he could simply stand by and watch Yugi be with someone else. It was only after Yami had turned away, looking slightly confused as he took in the darkness that the night had to offer them from the window, a small stray beam of moonlight streaming through the glass, that Yugi swallowed back the sob that threatened to escape him. Yami would try; he would _always_ try.

"I…I really did worry sometimes that maybe you were bipolar and sometimes I thought maybe you were a ticking time bomb, that we would never really last. But I…when you attacked Arkana and Pegasus at the warehouse, Kaiba told us about how you've only ever lost control of a situation like that twice in your life, that it's happened since you were six. I guess he thought he could scare me with the idea," he admitted quietly, watching as Yami tipped his head to the side and red eyes regarded him coldly through his long lashes, as if he were dying to ask _Why aren't you_? _Any sane person would be_ but didn't have the strength to voice the question that could potentially tear him to pieces completely. "I heard it in his tone when he talked about it. But you've never hurt me. And I can't be afraid of something that just _might_ happen anymore. It's the one thing that always holds me back…"

"I think you should probably take time to really think about all of this, Yugi. The shock of it all must have worn off by now," Yami commented quietly, eyes sliding away to regard the grass that grew in the window's view, moving his hands to tuck them into his pockets and ignoring the stare that the smaller boy gave him. "This way you can have a level head while you consider all the pros and cons…"

"Did you really think I wouldn't choose you?" Yugi asked softly a few moments later when he was sure Yami wasn't going to speak anymore; he watched the taller teen's jaw lock in place and his eyes widen drastically for a split second as if he were afraid to consider the words that had just left his mouth. "Yami, I already chose you."

Yami stiffened until he couldn't quite move his body completely though his eyes narrowed and he stared at him through the corner of his eye as if he thought the smaller boy was joking.

"I love you too," he said quietly, hopping down to go over and grab his hands. He linked their fingers together and squeezed when the taller boy's expression turned sharp and cynical. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now. And I wouldn't have said it in the first place. I know…I know I was a little late with saying it back since you said it months ago but…Yami, I do love you."

He stared at him with a suddenly furious expression but it didn't seem like it was directed towards him, more broken and confused and strained than anything else, and the blue-violet-eyed boy blinked in surprise. Yami moved to pull his hands away but Yugi kept his grip, refusing to let go despite the way that his eyes widened and he started to look extremely scared out of his mind.

" _Why_?"

Yugi had to admit that the venom in that one word threw him a little off balance. Why what exactly? It looked like Yami had something massive to ask him but settled for something far smaller and more manageable when he spoke again.

"Why would you choose me? My parents have disowned me and I have no money—or well, I do, fifty million dollars' worth but I don't ever want to touch it. I have no fucking idea what I'm going to do after high school because I was formerly a spoiled little brat who had his goals laid out for him. I have no fucking idea what I will do later in life. I can't do laundry. I'm useless as far as chores go. I'm liable to lose my temper and hurt someone and you could damn well be putting yourself in harm's way by staying with me. You can never truly know with me. It's impossible to know when I'll snap and when I won't. How the hell could you possibly choose something like that?"

The smaller teen snorted, leaning forward to bury his face into the taller boy's collarbone, pulling his hands away to wrap his arms around his neck; Yami didn't return the hug, stiffening at the contact, but he had never expected him to in the first place.

"I don't know what I plan to do after school either, and I don't know if we'll be okay later. I don't even know if one day I'll wake up and not care about life anymore or if I'll make you hate me. I don't know how many times we'll fight. I don't know how many times I'll hurt you and you'll hurt me in return. I don't know how many times I'll trigger your darker side and draw him out to play with me a little. I don't know when we'll push each other until we break and bleed. But what I _do_ know is the feeling of how horrible it is to live without you."

Yami pulled away from him, not the least bit surprised when Yugi willingly let him slip out of his grip, watching with a small smile as the red-eyed teen turned his attention to the floor in contemplation. He was pretty sure Yami had backed out of the initial question he had been about to ask him in the first place but he didn't want to push and the other boy seemed a little shaken as it was, like he couldn't quite grasp what was going on but he was trying hard to do so. His eyes snapped from one corner of the room to the other and then slowly scraped their way up a wall to settled on the ceiling slowly; his attention solidified completely on one little spot there that Yugi knew he would never find no matter how long and hard he searched for it.

But Yugi liked this. He enjoyed seeing the way that the other teen searched his mind for an explanation as if his words made no sense, liked witnessing the way that he frowned slightly and shifted his weight to the left subtly and narrowed his eyes again. He liked the way that he examined this gift he was receiving for some kind of cracks that Yugi knew he wouldn't find but sought out anyways, liked the way his head tilted to the side and his arms moved to unconsciously cross in front of his chest, his fingers digging into his arms through the thing material of his jacket.

He liked that he was relying on his senses rather than the abstraction of the information he was given, the way that they were the things that made it all real for him rather than the words Yugi had spoken, so when he was abruptly pressed into the wall with an arm around his waist and a hand in his hair, he was already laughing and letting the exhilaration of his anticipation make him dizzy as he watched him finally really grasp what he had been saying to him.

"I love you," he breathed against the taller teen's mouth, relishing in the feel of the other boy quivering as if the force of the words shook him to his core.

_Why_?

Why did he love him?

Yami searched his eyes for a moment but the desperation that he had been feeling before whenever he thought about it, struggling for hours to find one little thing to understand why Yugi would feel the same way about him wasn't there and the relief of the lack of that sensation made him purr for a split second.

"You know that I'm actually really jealous—I put Rebecca to shame."

Yugi threw his head back, laughing with a roll of his eyes. "Oh my god, Yami. Shut up already. You talk too much." His lips pressed against the other teen's and he found himself happily drowning in the feeling of being lost and found all at once, at the frightening but amazingly simple sensation of falling endlessly into the other boy.

Yami was unraveling and Yugi didn't know what to do at first, not when the taller teen shook like a leaf and pulled away to press his face into his neck, but he did know what to do as the words "I'll do whatever it takes—I'll change" tore through the space between them in a weak whimper that barely breezed by in a breath.

"Don't."

The hand in his hair seemed to tighten but lose its grip all at once and Yugi listened to his lungs rasping for a second before he spoke again.

"But…"

Yugi scowled as he started to pull at the taller boy's jacket in frustration at the idea of him changing. "No buts. I chose you," he snapped in a quiet breath, somewhat overwhelmed by his own words, the implications, but finding himself wanting to sink further into it all rather than wanting to run away from it all together; no, the initial fear to run was completely gone. Now he was falling and the sensation was only so relieving because he knew that Yami would be there to catch him at the end of it.

"I'm dangerous, Yugi…"

"So what? Everyone is dangerous if you give them a reason to be."

"But I…Yugi, I don't even…I'm not even employed."

"And? Technically neither am I."

"I don't have money."

"So we'll get jobs together." He tugged at his hair affectionately, loving the beautiful silky touch of it and drowning in the loving light in his deep red eyes, in the way the corner of his mouth curled into a small lopsided smile that took his breath away. "We'll work it out, Yami. All of it. You're worrying and you don't need to. I won't run again."

Yami's hands slid up his back and Yugi grinned widely, giving his long hair another affectionate tug that the taller teen narrowed his eyes playfully at; he wasn't really sure why, but they didn't move for a long time, merely standing silently and holding each other. A strange feeling began to steadily warm the smaller boy's veins, flourishing through his entire body with unsteady speed—joy, undiluted happiness. He didn't know why it made him cry, just that it did, and he didn't care enough to break eye contact as Yami rubbed them away gently with the soft pads of his thumbs.

The energy between them sparked and lit like fire when their lips met of their own accord; Yugi let the taller teen pull him away from the wall, slipping a leg between his for a split second before rubbing at his shin with the heel of his shoe to coax him backwards. He hesitated for a second just because it was awkward with Yami's weight in addition to his but he moved backwards until the back of his legs pressed against the surface of the soft mattress that Yami had been too lazy to drag upstairs upon moving in. The smaller teen fell back into the furniture without much thought as their tongues glided and clashed, hands exploring each other's bodies in exuberance. Yugi nearly tore Yami's shirt in half in his haste to get it over his head, desperate to feel something other than clothing. The red-eyed teen had to scramble away from him to keep the smaller boy from tearing it with his grip, the other laughing as he got the offending object off his body so that Yugi could press his hand to his chest, closing his bright blue-violet eyes as he felt the warm pulse of his heart beneath his palm.

Yami looked him over curiously for a moment and then purred softly, nudging him gently with his knees against his hips and a hand trailing over his side. Yugi blinked his eyes open, shivering at the look of pure adoration that met him immediately, and gave a small smile before scooting back as the other teen was asking him to do wordlessly. He settled into the middle of the mattress and Yami was honestly glad that he had given into his impulsive laziness when it came to setting up the rooms. He still wondered what the hell was with them sending it like this, completely made up as if they were afraid he wouldn't be able to figure out how to do it on his own.

Yami shook the thought off to busy himself with the task of neatly but quickly, efficiently, unbuttoning Yugi's shirt, curious when he saw the tank top underneath and laughing lightly at the double layers even as Yugi started to pull it off. He kind of felt that he should have guessed that much in the first place because the smaller teen almost always had one on.

"Remember how I said I couldn't make it over earlier than now?" he asked, smiling when Yami nodded and ran his fingers over his side in a soft stroke. "Yeah, well, I had to go to a family dinner with my grandpa and Rebecca and her grandfather and I at least needed to look 'presentable'."

The taller teen made a scoffing noise. "You could wear a trash bag and still look presentable."

"Oh please, Yami, I'm already on my back and your halfway through with the top of my clothes, no flattery is needed to get in my pants," Yugi snorted with a teasing wink, smiling as the other boy rolled his eyes and pressed his cheek against his for a moment before taking one of his nipples into his mouth and pulling lightly. Yugi moaned and arched his back closer to his mouth, feeling the wet muscle circle the bud, teasing him like that until the smaller teen was grasping at his hair tightly and growling softly under his breath. Yami released him after a moment when he tugged again, voice bleeding with sudden concern and something like regret, as if he was scared his words would make the smaller boy run again.

"Are you sure?"

Yugi stared at him in confusion for a moment, a little lost about when he had closed his eyes in the first place, blinking several times, and then furrowed his brows as he tried to grasp what he meant before laughing. "Absolutely."

"Hmm…how long have you known?" he inquired, trailing a finger down the center of his stomach to his bellybutton and then back to his ribcage, some wild desperation making his eyes dark but bright all at once.

"When I went on my date with Rebecca."

Yami's finger halted, head snapping up and staring at him in surprise as the other boy froze and gave him a confused look. "On your date?"

Yugi nodded after a moment.

The teen frowned slightly; by the gods, he had read the cards wrong.

But that still didn't help him figure out anything about what was really starting to frustrate him all over again.

"What made you realize it?"

"Everything felt wrong. I wanted you there and not her. I felt lonely and disappointed in myself because I knew it was supposed to be you sitting across from me at that stupid restaurant." Yugi swallowed hard. "I never want to feel like that again."

The taller teen chuckled and shook his head. "You won't have to, little one." He paused and then laughed breathily into his neck, voice coming out embarrassed and playful. "Um…it's kind of been a while, huh? So I don't know if I'll…you know, last very long…?"

Yugi cracked up and shook his head. "You know what? A while back I started thinking the couch cushions might magically transform into ass cheeks at any moment so honestly, I think I win this game," he announced, laughing harder.

Yami froze completely for a single millisecond, breathing against his neck roughly before he burst out laughing, his entire body shaking with the sound and making the smaller teen crack up again.

"We're an odd pair, aren't we? You have separation anxiety and apparently want to fuck a couch when you're not around me—"

"Don't forget the sex dreams. Those were endless."

That earned him another round of laughter before he could continue. "—and I'm overly attached with no real control over my temper."

_You aren't going to end up hurting me_ , Yugi thought even as he murmured, "Yeah, but it works for us."

"Mm," he agreed wholeheartedly, purring softly into his neck.

Yugi licked his lips and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling his hips up to embrace the taller teen's waist; the other boy paused for a single second with a small laugh before rolling them over as he wanted. He had to admit that it was rather amazing to him just how easily they could communicate without words, as if it were some kind of instinctual understanding between them.

He worked on the other boy's pants and shivered at the stare he was given even as the red-eyed teen wiggled his hips slightly out of anticipation, earning him a small round of light laughter. He listened to the soft purring as he pulled his own clothes off and did the same with him, licking his lips and feeling Yami's hands reaching up to rub up and down his sides in an affectionate manner that made him purr with delight. For a moment neither of them moved, the red-eyed teen pausing his hands and Yugi staring at his body for a long minute. He honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to be seme or uke, seeing as he both wanted Yami to be inside of him and to see the look on Yami's face when he arched and mewled with pleasure as he struck his prostate, feel him wrapped tightly around him.

Yami would do either. Yugi knew that, which was what made him do what he did next. Because he didn't want to make love _to_ but rather _with_ Yami. And he would be damned if he didn't get this off his chest first.

He pulled away slightly and Yami's fingers slipped from his ribs, the taller teen blinking wide eyes before reaching out to run the tips of his fingers over his shoulders, curiosity burning in his gaze as Yugi settled between his legs and pressed his finger against the ring of muscle, his eyes still solely locked with the other boy's.

"You know, you're a real fucking ass," he commented.

Yami blinked, looking genuinely confused. "I wasn't aware we were attempting dirty talk…"

He tried not to but he ended up chuckling anyways before he managed to force it off with a glare. "Shut up. I meant ignoring me like that!" he snapped, frowning and then looking down at Yami's abdomen, tracing a finger over his abs thoughtfully. "I only wanted to know if you were okay."

Yami didn't even bother to feign confusion or innocence. "I know. I am sorry, aibou. I just…I was scared and I didn't want to have to talk to you in that kind of state. I…I'm sorry."

Yugi wanted to get mad but he knew that he didn't really have the grounds to do so as Yami had acted in the best interest of both of them, as he was starting to think he normally did. He was trying to protect them both from something that probably would have turned ugly if he had seen him in a state that was less than him willing to see him…It was almost like the many times he had tried to convince them both that they were just stupid infatuations. He had to admit he still found it rather funny that he was with the "school geek".

But hey, Yami was an awesome little geek.

And how could you not love someone who would push away their own wishes and most powerful desires just to make sure you were safe while trying to protect themselves at the same time?

Yugi found it so admirable it was impossible not to feel overwhelmed with the sensation for a moment or two.

"I went after you when you left. I wanted to make sure you got home okay…"

"You… _followed_ me?" he muttered, head snapping up.

Yami flinched and nodded slowly, chewing his cheek. "I sat on the other side of the door and listened until you weren't crying anymore and when you stopped and started to leave, I followed to make sure nothing happened."

"What would have happened?" he asked incredulously, shaking his head and furrowing his brows. "I would have been more worried about your ass being caught again."

He chuckled in amusement, shaking his head. "No, I just didn't want you to do something stupid like you and I are both known to do. I didn't want you to go to a bar and get plastered or something like that. I just…I got worried that you might do that and I didn't want anything to happen to you so I figured if you did that, I would walk you home."

Yugi nodded slowly after a moment, laughing and shaking his head before pinching his flesh gently with the tip of his nail as he wiggled his finger inside of him; Yami jolted slightly, baring his teeth in annoyance, and gave him a sharp look that had him smirking in amusement. "I should have known you would do something like that. Funny I never noticed though."

The taller teen shrugged. "Not really. I didn't want to be caught."

"But if you were, what would you have done?"

There was a long silence and Yugi watched him close his eyes, tilting his head some as if thinking about the answer. "I would have bolted," he admitted finally. "I didn't want to see your face. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. If you had looked back and I saw your face, I would have run. I could never stand making you cry…"

He nodded again. "Well…thank you. I guess."

Yami started to shake his head and then jumped again, bug-eyed as he snarled, "Ra, would you stop doing that?"

Yugi burst out laughing and shook his head immediately. "Actually, my name is Yugi. And no, I'm having fun torturing you." He bit his skin gently with the nail again and Yami squirmed before glaring, a small blush appearing on his golden-bronze cheeks.

"I missed you…"

"I know. I missed you too, Yugi."

The smaller teen had one of those moments where he wanted to be selfish and stupid, snap at him that if he really had, he wouldn't have avoided him like this. But he knew the reasons and in his place, he would have done the same. But that didn't stop him from having a split second where his mind teetered and fell back on that moment in the hospital, with them laying in the bed and Yami asking him why. He still didn't know what it was that Yami had meant when he asked and it was driving him insane, had been for weeks, drifting into his dreams more often than not, but he wasn't about to ask either.

Something about the thought of asking made his stomach twist painfully and his heart lurch; he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like Yami's answer if he told him why.

His eyes drift for a moment, curiosity peaked, and stared blankly at the two wounds. The one on his side, just an inch or two above his hipbone, was almost flesh-colored, the scab all but faded but definitely healing well. Yugi tilted his head to the side as he looked it over and reached a hand out to run his fingers over it; Yami flinched beneath him, eyes wide.

"Sorry."

Yami shook his head immediately in response but didn't speak.

Yugi watched him closely for a long moment, studying and seeing that the other boy was relaxed again, and finally ducked his head to run his tongue over the scab on his side as he had been curious about for a while. The taller teen startled and sank his nails into his skin in surprise, slight pressure from his shock but nothing to actually hurt him. The scab tasted funny, of ointment and salt and blood, it was oddly arousing in its own right. Yami purred softly as he flattened his tongue against the flesh wound gently and used his free hand to stroke his thumb over his other flank, his side quivering beneath his touch.

He raised his eyes to look at him through his lashes, making sure it wasn't fear that made him respond this way because the purring had ceased at some point and he wasn't entirely sure of when, but now that he had Yami's face in his sight, he was assured that the other teen was completely relaxed despite the tremors that shook his skin.

He pulled his tongue away after a moment, pressing a light kiss to it, and pulled his other hand away, the red-eyed teen's head snapping up in surprise at this, and reached lazily to trace the skin of his arm from his elbow to his wrist which sat against his own shoulder. Yami stared in confusion for a moment but there was a haze to his eyes as he realized belatedly that he had not ceased his actions of stroking his side wound.

He ignored the look and the way that Yami pulled his left hand up his shoulders slightly to give him more access to his wrist as his hand traveled back up towards it and then back down to his elbow once more. He finally gave in to the urge to slip his fingers under his palm, tickling him with the soft pads of his fingers, drawing the other teen's hand down from his shoulder so that he could kiss the center of his palm and then twine their fingers together as the other boy stared with wide eyes.

He leaned forward and looked at his shoulder, Yami shifting to accommodate him though he didn't look at him with the action. The scab was darker than the one on his side, but it was just blood and Yugi recognized that from when he had helped his grandpa bandage his wrist after he had cut it falling down from the ladder in the game shop. He'd hurt his back and reopened the wound multiple times, gotten it infected, and Yugi had taken care of it the entire time because Solomon had seemed all but reluctant to mess with it unless he was using it to do something.

Looking at the scab, he was kind of curious about how many times he had reopened it, how long it had clean of infection, but he was pretty sure if it had been infected recently, it would have been when he was playing against Duke. And despite some small glances at it in between rolling the dice, Yami had seemed pretty at peace with it. So it had to have been clean for a while now.

Yugi shook the idea off to press a kiss to the wounded flesh, hearing the sharp inhale of something akin to pain and panic that Yami gave at the sudden contact. He ignored it, squeezing his hand tightly in acknowledgment before licking at the layer of dried blood gently. The other teen's fingers twitched in his grip, not out of pain, but definitely out of fear, his longer nails scraping gently over the back of his palm and making him shiver.

"Do they still hurt?" he asked softly, licking again and tasting something like gingerbread and cinnamon against his tongue, realizing slowly that it was probably another kind of cream that he would have to use to clean the wound after the infection and it being reopened. Hmm…who knew medicine could actually taste good?

"Sometimes," Yami responded quietly, his head turned towards him, watching him curiously as Yugi studied the wound, his own eyes jumping to the exposed pulse point in his neck that made his mouth water with desire. His eyes became lidded when Yugi licked at the skin again, gently pressing his tongue against it and then twisting his body some more to take the wound into his mouth more firmly, caressing the abused skin with his tongue.

Where the initial contact had startled him with the weight Yugi put on it when he kissed it, now it felt almost natural for his tongue to be running over it, kissing and caressing and undeniably significant despite the simplicity of the action. His fingers tightened where Yugi's were loose in his grip and his stomach felt strange, flipping with excitement, when he moved to tighten his in response.

Yugi pulled back to pepper his wet skin with soft kisses, his thumb still working to stroke at the second bullet wound. He could still feel the quivers coursing through his system, somewhat soothed by the smaller teen's gentle caresses of skin and lips. He dragged his nails up the flesh of his hand, finally closing his eyes all the way and letting out a soft purr, relaxing himself completely after realizing how stupid a thought it was to assume that Yugi might hurt him.

The smaller teen shivered above him but didn't comment on the sensation of his nails trailing along his skin though he did lick his lips and look at his face, smiling to himself and turning his attention back to his side where his thumb was still gently rubbing.

He didn't know why he was still so surprised by how natural this felt, like he should have been doing this for years. It was as simple as breathing, pleasuring Yami and trying to comfort his physical wounds. He doubted he could heal the emotional or mental nearly as easily, but he had to admit that he was definitely going to try if Yami was ever willing to give him the chance.

The red-eyed teen turned his head, still not opening his eyes, and his breath ghosted over his neck, making his heart skip a beat and his erection throb; he was pretty sure he was going to start leaking soon but threw that thought away to look at Yami again. His breathing told him that he was in fact very nervous, possibly from the prospect of Yugi's affection towards his healing flesh or possibly because Yugi was technically worshipping his body and this would be the first time that they could actually have sex without the lopsided emotions that came with it.

His slender digits pressed warm pads against his shoulder, his muscles and the blade of bone beneath seeming to shiver with delight at the attention he gave it. Yami was pretty sure it was a reaction he would have gotten whenever if he had done so earlier or even later; either way, the sensation had his teeth gnawing into his lip to keep back a moan. He didn't open his eyes when he felt Yugi's nose press against the skin of his cheek but he did jolt slightly when he lowered his fingers to his hip and tapped a short rhythm there, tapping Yami's wrist against his shoulder once.

The taller teen obliged slowly, humming once before trailing his hand down the front of his arm, pausing briefly to tap his fingers over the back of the smaller boy's hand, slowly pulling it away to glide along the back, resting on his elbow for a second before moving across his ribs to his side and settling on his hip.

Yugi watched as his lips pulled into a small smile, shivering when Yami's voice came out wondering and a little awed as he whispered, "You want me?"

"More than anything," he responded immediately, not even having to think about the answer and smiling to himself at the warm feeling that spread through his body.

His hand squeezed his for a moment before his fingers danced unfamiliar patterns across his skin, warm and allowing his nails to gently graze them. Yugi was extremely reluctant to let go of his hand, warm and soft against his, but slowly forced himself to pull his away, nearly panting and moaning at the simple touch of his fingers moving up and down his arm before going to his ribs. He traced the grooves of them, making Yugi's spine tremble with delight and undeniable anticipation at the touch. They rested there momentarily, just long enough for his dark red eyes to flicker open and focus on his, drawing him into a desperate stare that made his heart hurt. "You need me?"

His lips twitched into a tiny smile as he leaned towards him slightly, rubbing noses with him in an Eskimo kiss, his voice coming out warm and affectionate as he breathed, "More than air."

Yami stayed quiet for a moment and Yugi watched his teeth dig into his lip, confusion momentarily making him pull back to furrow his brows, feeling finger pads dig into his skin with enough force to make him notice but not enough to bruise, the taller boy's voice hoarse and strained with desperation.

"Tell me you love me."

Yugi blinked once and then tilted his head to the side, giving him another warm smile. "I love you, Yami Sennen."

He watched his jaw jump a little as he ground his teeth thoughtfully, that same desperation alight in his eyes even as Yugi blinked and fought the urge to interrupt him. "Tell me you want me."

He blinked again, startled by the request, confused as to how Yami couldn't already tell, but then kissed his nose, saying, "I always want you." He paused for a moment, seeing that Yami was at least slightly calmed, the truth spilling from his lips before he had a chance to stop himself, coming out on a breath he hadn't even realized he had. "I only ever want you."

He looked surprised with the statement but his hand finally traveled to rest against his hip, satisfied with his answers. Yugi pressed a small, lingering kiss to his forehead that made Yami's grip on his waist tighten momentarily in acknowledgment and affection. The smaller teen reached a hand out to run over his face, cupping his cheek and sliding up to his temple before disappearing into his hair momentarily. He couldn't find it in himself to look away for even a split second, the red of lava molten and burning into his, leaving him feeling warm all over. He pulled his hand from his hair and trailed his index finger down the ridge of his eyes and across his nose, tapping the tip so that he scrunched it up in response, and rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip to make him part them enough to nip the pad of his finger.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, smiling as Yami blinked a few times and nodded mutely, seemingly overwhelmed but with eyes glazed over with pleasure, gripping his hips and letting him lower himself onto him; there was that steady burning sensation that welcomed his lack of preparation, but he ignored it easily and instead began to move slowly, feeling his skin against his and moaning in delight as he got to the very tip of his erection and then slammed down rapidly, repeating the motion several times. He adored the feeling of Yami filling him over and over again, watching his face to see that the red eyes were merely open in slits, peering through his long lashes, the tip of his tongue clamped between his white teeth. The look on his face brought him closer but not enough; it felt a small bit disappointing when Yami thrust once and then growled his release, obviously frustrated that he had finished so early.

"Don't stop. Keep going."

Yugi hadn't even noticed that he had stopped, blinking several times in surprise and then listening to him as he started gliding himself on him again; Yami moaned quietly and thrust to meet each of his movements, watching him through his lashes again and purring softly.

The blue-violet-eyed boy was a little surprised by the fact that he hadn't come first. Considering the wet dreams and the whole couch ordeal from before, but it amused him to no end and Yami's semen was warm and wet and made the most amazing lubricant, bringing ecstasy closer as his movements grew more frantic with his increase of speed. His stomach coiled and tightened and Yami's fingers trailed from his ribcage across his stomach to his bellybutton and then hesitated before gently stroking the base of his penis, his skin soft and ghosting gently. Waves of pleasure rode over him with the double assault and just as he couldn't fathom lasting any longer, Yami thrust up and lights flashed behind his eyes as he dropped to his chest.

Yami chuckled and wrapped one of his bangs around his finger, his eyes affectionate before kissing his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too." He squirmed a little and then laughed. "You want _more_?"

It came out incredulous and amused and Yami nodded, smirking. "Always." He pulled Yugi off, however, surprising and confusing him, before they rolled over and Yugi grinned with delight, wrapping his arms around his neck. Yami's nose brushed the hollow of his neck as he mumbled against his skin, remembering Yugi as he breathed "I only ever want you" and selfishly wanting to hear him tell him it was only him again. "Out of curiosity, am I the only one you've ever slept with or…?"

"No, you're the only one."

Yugi blushed furiously when he felt the relieved sigh against his skin; he could have melted into nothing with the beautiful, affectionately throaty response he was given.

"Good."

He didn't feel it at first, not until Yami brushed his prostate, and then he mewled and arched, having not known that he had even put a finger in until that moment. Yugi squeaked and then mewled again when Yami snapped his hips sharply inside of him. His hands immediately sought out the wall behind him, pressing his palms flat against it and then pushing against him, pulling him in impossibly further. Yami licked at the shell of his ear, following it with a gentle nip that made him squirm.

This had to be illegal. There _had_ to be a law against pleasuring someone so much they might melt. It _had_ to be a form of murder, right?

Yugi pushed back against him frantically, moaning softly from the onslaught of pleasure that coursed through him, tripled with the pulsing of energy that went through them both like a heartbeat. Between his own movements and Yami's thrusts, he was overwhelmed with the sensation, feeling Yami slam into him repeatedly so that they both moaned in unison, their actions somehow managing to bury the taller teen impossibly deeper into his flesh.

He reveled in the feel of his orgasm crashing over him, taking and spiraling him to a blissful void, both of them finding release at the same time, Yugi pushing himself into him once more before finding that he was too weak to continue, falling back into the mattress with a breathy moan as Yami settled himself next to him and pulled him close, mumbling his love again before falling asleep. He couldn't do much more than the taller teen, reciprocating the words and closing his eyes again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on a sequel. Anyways, there were a lot of parts of things that I didn't really include for the length of the chapter cause it was already THIS long and I would have been dragging the storyline out where there was nothing else to put in (hence the SEQUEL). That would be this: Atem and Yami had a talk about Pegasus while he was in the Puzzle BEFORE he asked him if he missed Yugi, Tristan and Duke got into a fight when Duke figured out that Tristan had stolen his phone, Rebecca and Yami actually had a little chat about Yugi once when he went to check up on him, Yami and Atem's conversation about soul catchers, Solomon and Duke's dad talking about the game shop, Yugi and Solomon talking about the game shop, Ryou pointing out the ad in the newspaper, Malik and Bakura's spat at school, Yugi and Mai having a small heart-to-heart AND Yugi going after Duke for offering money to buy the game shop.  
> FUN FACT: Yami's doctor that he saw when he started hallucinating (it was from stress, not actually taking too many pills, just stress) was Pegasus's adopted son in the Yugioh!R manga.  
> Each of the above scenes will be MENTIONED in the sequel at least once or twice (possibly). The sequel is going to hit a somewhat DARKER note than Simple did. It's going to have more to do with the Items as well. It'll PROBABLY be longer than Simple is.  
> Anyways, just know that, no, I did not end the story randomly at any point (it was supposed to end like this) even if a few questions got left unanswered. But if I had added on more chapters, I would have been inclined to drag it out and it would have been really bad how that turned out (trust me, I KNOW).
> 
> TLDR: Sequel has no set date, little bit of information on some of the things that happened that weren't put in story...Mm, yeah, that about sums it up xD

**Author's Note:**

> Story will be updated every Wednesday


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